Dirtiest beach in Florida? It is in Miami-Dade County | Miami

There are miles of beaches in Miami-Dade County and South Florida, and while most provide endless hours of fun for residents and visitors alike, there are some bacteria hot spots where contact with water presents health hazards.

Such is the case with Park View Kayak Launch in Miami Beach, Florida, which ranks as the dirtiest beach stretch in Florida and one of the worst in the US.

The City of Miami Beach’s website maintains a “no contact with the water” advisory for the area adjacent to the kayak launch at 73 Street. The City says, “water sampling results continue to show a fecal indicator bacteria concentration that exceeds recreational water quality standards established by the Florida Department of Health.”

In its 2024 Clean Water Report, the Surfrider Foundation, a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s oceans, waves, and beaches, ranks ten Beach Bacteria Hot Spots from the East Coast, West Coast, Puerto Rico, and Hawai‘i, where Surfrider Foundation chapters are consistently measuring high bacteria levels that exceed state health standards for recreational water.

Founded in 1984 by a group of surfers in Malibu, California, who were concerned about local environmental threats, the Surfrider Foundation it has grown into a powerful activist network.

The Clean Water Report, found that the water at Park View Kayak Launch is highly polluted, making it unsafe for swimming.

The issue, according to information provided by the City of Miami Beach, began when a sewer main broke in March 2020, flooding the water with pollution. Usually, surrounding surface waters will continue to have high bacteria counts for a couple of days following the pollution incident occurs, but the high levels of bacteria continued at Park View Kayak Launch. The city says that “further analysis of historical data collected since 2019 indicates that this waterway has chronically elevated bacteria levels.”