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w July 29, 20 I 0 \fr. Jay DuCassi Editor, Local Section The Miami Herald One Herald Plaza Miami, FL 33132 Via e-mail: jducassi@miamiherald.com Dear Mr. DuCassi: There was an article which appeared today in the local section of The Miami Herald that was filled with inaccuracies and can have a damaging effect on the reputation of Sunny Isles Beach. The headline of the local section - Bacteria in water off Sunny Isles Beach is also inaccurate, The water today and this month has tested normal in the shores off the City of Sunny Isles Beach. The City was contacted by Miami Herald intern Carrie Wells about the NRDC report on the state's beaches yesterday afternoon. We had not been given a copy of the report and had to research the report to comment on the story, c First and foremost we explained to the reporter that the City does not test the waters off its shores that the Miami-Dade County Health Department tests the waters, The reporter was mistaken that the City tests its own water, We provided the name, e-mail and phone number of the Miami-Dade County Health Department to the reporter for comment on this story, It appears he was never contacted since there was no comment from this crucial department that monitors the beach waters for the entire county, not just Sunny Isles Beach. We explained to the reporter that out of 365 days in 2009 the beaches in Sunny Isles Beach were closed for a total of seven days. The portion of beach closed was not the entire two and one- half miles but only the affected area, a very small portion of the entire city. We explained the process for testing the water. The waters are tested by the Miami-Dade County Health Department every Monday. If there is an abnormal reading the waters are tested the next day, If another abnormal reading appears the beaches are closed until the water is safe. As the report indicated the largest source of contamination is from Storm Water and Wildlife. The 41 % abnormal readings over weekly test samples was due in large part to excessive rains and storm water runoff and wildlife. The samples were taken by Pier Park collected 18 inches below the surface water that is approximately 36 inches deep which does have a high concentration of natural wildlife including brown pelicans due to the close proximity of the pier, (.)