The Blue Water Task Force is Surfrider’s volunteer water quality monitoring program that provides critical water quality information to protect public health at the beach. Surfrider chapters use this program to raise awareness of local pollution problems and to bring together communities to implement solutions.

Blue Water Task Force (BWTF) labs measure fecal indicator bacteria levels in recreational waters and compare them to water quality standards set to protect public health. Chapter-run BWTF programs fill in the gaps and extend the coverage of agency-run beach monitoring programs by sampling ocean and bay beaches, estuaries and potential freshwater sources of pollution such as stormwater outlets, rivers and creeks that discharge onto the beach.

Surfrider Foundation Miami monitors water quality at over 20 sites from Sunny Isles to Bill Baggs State Park. The Blue Water Task Force team monitors a variety of areas popular with recreational users including ocean and bay beaches, kayak launches, and harbors. 

Our BWTF data augments the beach monitoring program conducted by the Florida Department of Health in Miami/Dade County. The State collects samples each Monday, while Surfrider Miami samples most of these same locations each Thursday. We post results every Friday, providing up-to-date water quality information to the public in time for weekend recreation. Our data is also shared with local policy makers in an effort to alter public policy to improve water quality across the area.

For questions or join the BWTF team, contact team leader Christi LeMahieu: bwtf@miami.surfrider.org

Local Resources

• Map and current status of Red Tides (marine water) monitored by Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
• Algal bloom samping results (fresh water) monitored by Florida Department of Environmental Protection. 
• View our data on SwimGuide

General Blue Water Task Force Information

• Frequently Asked Questions

Publications

• Surfrider’s Miami BWTF Annual Report 2023
• Surfrider’s Miami BWTF Annual Report 2022 
• Surfrider's Clean Water Annual Report 2023
• Surfrider’s Clean Water Annual Report 2022
• Surfrider’s Clean Water Annual Report 2021 

Sick At the Beach? We Want To Know!

• Fill out the Ocean Illness Form
• Learn more about BWTF and the importance of water testing on the Beachapedia website, including articles like Health Threats from Polluted Coastal Waters, Bacteria, and Bacterial Pollution: Tracking the Sources.