Is the water quality at my beach or bay good, or not? I wish there was a simple answer to that. Just because water has a slight color or odor, does not mean that it isn't healthy. For example, many Florida Rivers have a healthy natural brownish color caused by tannins in the water that come from leaves.

Water quality problems can be invisible to the eye, such as bacteria from human and natural waste, which is one of the reasons beaches are sometimes closed.

Your best bet is to be aware of local beach, shellfish or other reporting systems and to contact them if you have concerns. One example is the Beach Conditions Reports in South Florida which provides twice daily reports at local beaches at www.mote.org/beaches.

Is red tide caused by polluted runoff from the land? Red tide is a microscopic plant, or algae, whose growth is stimulated by nutrients such as fertilizers, pet and human waste, and other things that can be contained in land-based runoff. However, scientists have not been able to link red tide blooms with runoff events. One obvious problem with proving the link is that red tide blooms initially occur offshore, miles away from land. They are then blown by onshore winds towards coastal communities. Weekly red tide reports are provided by the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at http://research.myfwc.com/features/default.asp?id=1018.