FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. — The beach at Lover's Key State Park is closed during the busy Labor Day weekend as health officials collect and "evaluate a water quality sample," according to park staff.
Oh no! Lover’s Key State Park has the beach closed today for “contamination”. They are advising not to swim in the water, according to the ranger at the State Park. @Fox4Now pic.twitter.com/T2ztRdoMRF
— Nadeen Yanes TV (@nadeenyanes) September 3, 2022
Red flags posted at the beach's entrance Saturday confirm the area's closure. A notice on the state parks website confirms the closure is to allow an analysis of water quality samples.
It is not currently known what contaminants are causing concern.
We have reached out to state park, and Healthy Beaches personnel for further comment.
The State Department of Environmental Protection office told Fox 4 that the Healthy Beaches program is testing the water for potential bacteria, the same bacteria that was found atnearby Bonita Beach in July.
Per the Healthy Beaches program, the last test of the water at the park took place on August 29th, which showed that the water was free of contamination.
The results of this most recent test are still pending, and even though the beach is closed, it appeared wide open to anyone stopping by.
“It looked like a regular day at the beach. Our question was - why was the beach closed down on a pending report when it was fine on the 29th?” asked Chad Linton, a visitor to the beach on Saturday who says he visits Lovers Key regularly.
“It’s Labor Day weekend. People have been working hard and they want to go enjoy the beach with their family," Linton adds.
The State DEP says they don't know when the results of their sample will be made available, but it should be within the next few days.
Fox 4 will update this article when those results are made available.
