The Okaloosa Health Department has issued a new water quality advisory for Cinco Bayou in Fort Walton Beach, the latest in a series of advisories for the waterway since early August.
- The health department said tests completed by the Okaloosa County Natural Resources Department on Thursday, Sep. 17, indicate the water quality at Cinco Bayou does not meet the state’s recreational water quality criteria for Enterococcus bacteria. Sampling showed the level of bacteria exceeds the level established by state guidelines.
The department advises against any water-related activities at the location due to an increased risk of illness in swimmers. The advisory will continue until bacteria levels fall below the accepted health level.
The advisory is the third issued for Cinco Bayou since an environmental incident in the bayou first came to light on Sunday, Aug. 2. The health department issued a first advisory on Aug. 7, lifted it on Aug. 19, issued a second on Aug. 21 and lifted it Sep. 1.
When the county detailed the initial incident, it pointed to low oxygen levels in the water and a dying algae bloom as the likely causes of a fish kill that left thousands of fish and crabs dead, along with a gray discoloration and a sulfur-type odor. The county attributed the algal bloom to stormwater runoff and very warm water.
As for the elevated bacteria behind the advisories, the county said testing confirmed the enterococci was not of human origin. It said the likely and most common cause of the bacteria’s presence is stormwater runoff and the agitation of sediment, which suspends bacteria that feeds on the organic material the bayou is rich with.
