Fort Lauderdale is dedicated to building a healthy community and improving water quality. The City funds a water quality monitoring service agreement with Miami Waterkeeper, a South Florida-based non-profit and leader in clean water advocacy. The agreement requires Miami Waterkeeper to perform weekly water quality testing across key waterway recreational areas. Weekly results are posted online at www.theswimguide.org and via the program’s mobile device app. The results will follow the same format and criteria scheme used by the Florida Healthy Beaches program to assess recreational water quality:

The most probable (MPN) unit of measure is a statistical method used to estimate the viable numbers of bacteria in a sample and estimates bacterial cells in water.

Miami Waterkeeper uses the described criteria as a reporting standard to gauge risk of exposure to water while swimming and recreating. Weekly sampling takes place at each of the City’s designated Watersports Activity Areas and additional sites on other water bodies used for recreational purposes. Samples are collected and processed each Tuesday and posted online the next day.

Water Sampling Sites:

• Sunrise Paddleboards
• Middle River Dock (NE 18th Street)
• Sunrise Bay (Hugh Taylor Birch State Park)
• Middle River (George English Park)
• New River North Fork (Sweeting Park)
• Himmarshee Canal
• Annie Beck Park
• Cooley’s Landing
• Tarpon River (Rio Vista Blvd)
• SE 8th Street Sandbar
• New River South Fork (Coontie Hatchee Park Kayak Area)
• Lake Sylvia

Annual Reports:

• 2023 - Coming Soon
• 2021-2022