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The Application that Every Florida Resident Should Have
OMW2 FLORIDA BEACHES APPLICATION
Summer arrives and it’s finally that time of the year when you can spend a relaxing day at the beach. You live in Florida, where the weather is as bipolar as it can get so it’s kind of hard to find the perfect day to go. If you have my same luck, you will probably have to work or go to school on the sunniest, hottest, and most beautiful days. Or, you will be stock at home in your days off because a tropical storm is about to hit your city. Finally, a perfect summer day happens to coincide with your day off so you make a fast decision… you put on your bathing suit, get in your car, and get to the beach before something ruins this opportunity. As you beat traffic to arrive to Haulover beach, and pay $7 for parking, your eyes cannot believe what they see.
This double red flag is used in beaches to inform that water is closed to the public and that no swimming is allowed. Yes this happened to me, and yes it ruined my day! Then, I recalled listening to several news on TV and the radio about this flesh-eating bacteria that had already infected at least 7 people this year and had claimed the lives of two Florida residents. I couldn’t believe this famous bacteria was so closed to us, and all I could think of was: “How could nobody tell me about this?” At that point, I had two choices. One, I could keep driving south until I got to another beach while still taking the risk that the next beach might be closed too. Two, I could drive back home, forget about all the time and gas I wasted, and simply go to the pool. Traffic was crazy that day, so I ended up choosing the second option without hesitation.
Driving back to the house, I was still curious about this deadly bacteria. I kept asking myself: Why is it all over my favorite beach? When will it be gone? How will I know? I started looking for websites that could answer these questions and found no answers. At that moment, I thought: “How can there not be an app that tells you about bacteria levels in Florida beaches as well as other types of hazards?” Some random person could say: well, if you go to this “x” website, you might find some information. Yet, my answer to that would be: “Maybe, but I have no time to conduct a whole research in order to figure out whether the beach I want to go to is open and safe from any hazard or not!”
As a result from this experience, I thought about creating an easy to use mobile application for Florida beaches that inform you about the water conditions of every beach and about any other existing hazards.
In order to create this app, I would try to work with the Florida Health Department in order to obtain up-to-date data of the results from the beach water testing. Water samples are analyzed on a weekly basis in order to determine if bacteria levels are safe for the public. The fecal coliform and enterococci that normally inhabit the intestinal tract of humans and animals are some of the most common bacteria that can be found in these results.
In addition, The Vibrio vulnificus, a type of flesh-eating bacteria has become very prevalent in Florida beaches for it grows fastest in warm saltwater, causing it to bloom in the warm summer months of May though October. This bacteria is the greatest threat to those with weakened immune systems or chronic liver disease. Bacteria levels may vary every day for which it is important for the public to have access to this type of information in order to make more educated decisions about something as simple as going to the beach.
Finally, besides providing Florida beach water safety reports, I would add other interactive features to the app such as direct GPS links to Florida beaches along with pictures that anyone can upload, a personalized checklist of things people should bring to the beach, the local weather report, a beach check-in system that allows you to get instant alerts of upcoming thunderstorms and any other sudden beach warnings, and an easy to see UV intensity report that allows people to see the times that are better or worse for them to be exposed to the sun. This app will not only help people save time and money when deciding to what beach to go to, but it will also help raise awareness, but it will also be a valuable source of information to Florida residents as well as tourists that wish to make the best out of their beach experience.
