LTC 077-2018 Miami Beach Water Quality Sampling Program OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
NO. LTC# 077-2018 LETTE' 0 COMMISSION
TO: Mayor Dan Gelber and Members of he City Com ssion
FROM: Jimmy L. Morales, City Mana•-
•
DATE: February 16, 2018
SUBJECT: Miami Beach Water Quality Samp ng Program
I am excited to share that the city has completed its first year of expanded water quality sampling
and will be retaining a consultant to analyze the data, to improve our understanding of our local
water quality. This report will be finalized within the next two months.
Background
Clean waterways are critical to our local ecosystem, our residents' quality of life, and our economy.
Therefore, the city implements a multi-faceted strategy to keep pollution from entering our
waterways that meets and, where possible, exceeds regulatory requirements. The city's strategy
is founded on the requirements of the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
permit program, which was created in 1972 by the Clean Water Act.
The NPDES permit program addresses water pollution by regulating point sources that discharge
pollutants to waters of the United States. Miami Beach is one of more than 30 co-permittees with
Miami-Dade County for NPDES Permit No. FLS000003, covering a combined total of more than
8,000 outfalls throughout Miami-Dade County. The city's 367 outfalls constitute only 3.8% of the
total outfalls discharge into Biscayne Bay. As part of the NPDES permit requirements, the Miami-
Dade County permit holders are required to regularly monitor the water quality in Biscayne Bay
and its tributaries.
Miami-Dade County is responsible for collecting and analyzing samples across an established
network of stations that have been monitored for over 30 years. Each co-permittee reviews the
results of this sampling effort annually and uses this information to improve the efficacy of their
stormwater management program. Per the results of the most recent report submitted in December
2016, the Southern North Bay region which receives the stormwater from Miami Beach complied
for all parameters.
The health of Biscayne Bay is a regional concern. Contributing factors such as underground septic
tanks, nutrient loading from agriculture, and inputs from heavy industry, are examples of inputs
that cause other areas of the bay and contributing waterways to have higher nutrient loads and
have lower percentages of dissolved oxygen. Through the development of the Greater Miami &
the Beach Resiliency Strategy, recommendations for improving regional water quality will be
developed.
Miami Beach Water Quality Sampling Program
In 2016, the city launched its own water quality sampling program to expand upon the county's
existing sampling network. The program added more than sixty stations to cover areas of Biscayne
Bay closer to our shoreline and within our waterways for which data has historically not been
collected. The data from this program will generate a more robust snapshot of local water quality
and allow city staff to make better informed stormwater management decisions. This effort is
unique to Miami-Dade County in that it goes above and beyond the NPDES permit requirements
and was voluntarily initiated by the city.
It is important to note that the first year of data will serve as a baseline year, providing an initial
picture of the health of our waterways through which we can begin to understand natural patterns
of fluctuation in local water quality, such as tidal or seasonal variations. The baseline year will
serve as a control to which we can compare the data collected in future years. The longer we
collect data, the larger our sample size and the more statistical confidence we will be able to have
in the analysis of the results. Therefore, each year we will have a better understanding of the health
of our waterways than the previous year.
To ensure the integrity of the analysis and to turn it around more quickly, staff will be retaining an
outside water quality expert to review the data, draw initial conclusions about the health of our
waterways, and identify observable trends that will be monitored in subsequent years. The report
is anticipated to be completed this spring. The results of the water quality sampling data analysis,
coupled with the third-party scientific review conducted last year of our stormwater management
program, will be used to strategically improve the city's stormwater management efforts in a way
that will result in the greatest enhancement to waterway health.
Please do not hesitate to contact Elizabeth Wheaton, Environment and Sustainability Director, at
305-673-7010 if you have any questions.
SMT/ESW/MKW