Health authorities recommended avoiding swimming and any other water activities at Crandon Park North, a popular beach in Key Biscayne, after water tests detected bacteria levels exceeding the standards set by Florida regulations.
According to the Miami Herald the beach has not been closed: visitors can go to the location, but the Florida Department of Health in Miami-Dade (DOH-Miami-Dade) advises to stay out of the water due to an increased risk of illness.
The tests conducted on Saturday showed a concentration of bacteria exceeding the levels set by state guidelines for recreational waters.
The problem is related to enterococci, bacteria that normally live in the intestinal tract of humans and other warm-blooded animals.
For this reason, its presence in high concentrations in recreational waters is used as an indicator of a possible contamination by fecal waste.
This does not necessarily mean that there is a direct discharge of human waste onto the beach.
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), potential sources include wastewater from vessels, leaks from septic systems, stormwater runoff, and waste from domestic animals or wildlife.
The Department of Health warned that the detected concentration poses a greater risk of illness for people entering the water and recommended temporarily avoiding any water activities in Crandon Park North.
This is not the first time that this beach in Key Biscayne has faced a similar issue. In September 2025, Crandon Park North was among two beaches in Miami-Dade under a health alert due to elevated levels of Enterococcus.
On that occasion, the analyses also exceeded the established limits for the recreational use of water.
This precedent is not isolated. Last July, two other beaches in Miami-Dade were declared unsafe for swimming due to excessive enterococci: Bark Beach, in Miami Beach, and Golden Beach, at the northeastern tip of the county.
At that moment, North Shore Ocean Terrace was also under caution.
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