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<br />Q <br /> <br />July 29, 2010 <br /> <br />Ms. Myriam Marquez <br />Editor, Editorial Page <br />The Miami Herald <br />One Herald Plaza <br />Miami, FL 33132 <br />Via e-mail: mmarquez@miamiherald.com <br /> <br />Dear Ms, Marquez: <br /> <br />This letter is in response to the article which appeared today in the local section of The <br />Miami Herald stating that the Sunny Isles Beaches are unsafe with bacteria. This article was <br />filled with inaccuracies and can have a damaging effect on the reputation of Sunny Isles <br />Beach. The headline of the local section - Bacteria in water off Sunny Isles Beach is also <br />inaccurate. The water today and this month has tested normal in the shores off the City of <br />Sunny Isles Beach. <br /> <br />The City was contacted by Miami Herald intern Carrie Wells about the NRDC report on the <br />state's beaches yesterday afternoon. We had not been given a copy of the report and had to <br />research the report to comment on the story, <br /> <br />o <br /> <br />First and foremost we eXplained to the reporter that the City does not test the waters off its <br />shores that the Miami-Dade County Health Department tests the waters. The reporter was <br />mistaken that the City tests its own water. We provided the name, e-mail and phone number <br />of the Miami-Dade County Health Department to the reporter for comment on this story. It <br />appears he was never contacted since there was no comment from this crucial department <br />that monitors the beach waters for the entire county, not just Sunny Isles Beach. We <br />explained to the reporter that out of 365 days in 2009 the beaches in Sunny Isles Beach were <br />closed for a total of seven days. The portion of beach closed was not the entire two and one- <br />half miles but only the affected area, a very small portion of the entire city, <br />We explained the process for testing the water. The waters are tested by the Miami-Dade <br />County Health Department every Monday. If there is an abnormal reading the waters are <br />tested the next day, If another abnormal reading appears the beaches are closed until the <br />water is safe. <br /> <br />As the report indicated the largest source of contamination is from Storm Water and Wildlife. <br />The 41 % abnormal readings over 36 weekly test samples was due in large part to excessive <br />rains and storm water runoff and wildlife. The samples were taken by Pier Park collected 18 <br />inches below the surface water that is approximately 36 inches deep which does have a high <br />concentration of natural wildlife including brown pelicans due to the close proximity of the <br />pier. <br /> <br />o <br />