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County warns 'wade at your own risk' after advisory issued at Phil Foster Park

The Department of Health in Palm Beach County issued another water quality advisory for Phil Foster Park.


The agency announced the advisory Wednesday after tests completed Monday did not meet the recreational water quality criteria for Enterococcus bacteria recommended by the Florida Department of Health.



“I saw the advisory. I thought I'd check for myself,” longtime diver John Ozog said. "It was checked a couple days ago. It was supposed to be checked again this morning, so I came out physically to take a look."


It's the second advisory issued for the park in less than a month.


The last advisory was issued by the health department on March 27 and included six other beaches.


The department said it advises against any water-related activities at the park due to an increased risk of illness to swimmers.


"It was still pertinent for today and then I decided that I'm going to call the dives off this afternoon,” Ozog said.


The Environmental Protection Agency describes Enterococci as bacteria that live in the intestines of some animals including humans. The presence of the bacteria can possibly indicate the contamination of bodies of water by fecal matter.


"I didn't wanna get anything in my throat, because when your regulator comes out, you're going to get a little bit of water in your mouth and you're going to get a water in your ears," Ozog said. "I didn't want to get bacterial growth in my ears and then for the potential viability of a student, you don't want your student to get sick.”




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