Environmental monitoring is critical to the protection of human health and the environment. With human population and development on the rise, it is increasingly important to monitor our surrounding environment.

Clean air, water, and soil is vital to our health, and it is important to be aware of the presence of pollution that could be detrimental to our health. Even though technologies are advancing to help us monitor and even mitigate pollution, it is still increasingly important for each of us to be responsible and reduce pollution in any way we can.

Climate change is also a threat that could change the health of our environment and community. To study its potential effects, the City is participating in a joint Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment. More information on the threats we are studying can be found here: www.coastalresiliencepartnership.org

Beach Water Quality

The Florida Healthy Beaches programs provides routine testing of our coastal waters throughout the state. Our nearest testing site is at Sandoway Park. By clicking here, you can view recent testing data. If you would like to view of a map of this location and to see if there are any beach advisories, you can click here to be taken to a map hosted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Fresh Water Quality

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Division of Environmental Assessment and Restoration (DEAR) has numerous maps viewable online. Some of the maps you can explore include Generalized Water Information System, National Hydrography Dataset, Numeric Nutrient criteria, Total Maximum Daily Loads, and Trend Locations for both ground and surface water.

Below are some links that you can use to find information quickly, but the full list of maps and datasets that you can find can be found on the DEP’s website by clicking here and scrolling down to the information for DEAR. Each map has a Quick Start Guide and a Guide to Navigation that you can easily find by clicking on the question mark icon (?) in the menu found towards the top and center of the page.

• NPDES Stormwater Map
• Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) Map
• Wastewater Compliance and Evaluation Map
• Watershed Monitoring Map

DEP also has a Water Quality Dashboard that monitors TMDLs (Total Maximum Daily Loads of water pollutants as allowable by Section 4040 permits for the Clean Water Act) each year. Click here

Air Quality

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Air Quality Index tracks when the air pollution levels are in an unhealthy range so our community can be aware and modify their activities as necessary to protect their health. Children and the elderly are particularly susceptible to air pollution, which can harm their lungs and hearts.

Since we are located on the coast of Florida, generally our air quality is good. However, it is important for us to also reduce greenhouse gas emissions so we can stay even healthier and help ensure that our emissions don’t effect people in other communities.