June 4: Blue Wave Beaches

What exactly IS a "Blue Wave" beach? We hear a lot about them. That's especially true around Greater Fort Lauderdale, which offers 23 miles of officially designated Blue Wave beaches - our entire coastline from Deerfield Beach to Hallandale Beach. I've talked about our Blue Wave beaches many times in these blogs too. But I've never really explained what the heck they are. So today, well, I am going to explain what the heck they are. The story starts with a non-profit group called the Clean Beaches Council. Beginning 11 years ago, that Washington D.C. organization launched the nation's first environmental certification for beaches. As the council itself writes, "The Blue Wave certification process is designed to help maintain robust, healthy and vibrant beaches." Applicants can include cities, tourism boards, even hotels and resorts.

But the Clean Beaches Council doesn't just hand these certifications out to anyone. You have to meet some high standards of beach quality first. Actually there are 56 standards in seven areas related to safety, environmental management and responsible beach use.

Applying federal EPA standards, the Clean Beaches Council looks at such characteristics as water quality along with beach cleanliness and aesthetics, public education efforts and erosion management. Other factors taken into account include safety, service, beach and intertidal conditions and habitat conservation. Those folks at the council take this stuff seriously. As they should. Consider just this fact: Every year, more than 180 million Americans visit our ocean, gulf and inland beaches over two billion times. And remember, those numbers just reflect our domestic beachgoers. It turns out that beaches are this country's top tourist destination, fueling our economy with more than $640 billion annually. That's a lot of money and a lot of people. Obviously we all know that there are many other reasons to take care of our beaches - not least to support the wild animals that use our sands for breeding and feeding. The great news for those who love Fort Lauderdale is that our beaches keep earning the Blue Wave certification. Every year since the program began. So all those beaches, yes from Deerfield Beach right down through Hallandale Beach ... they each receive Blue Wave flags and beach entrance boundary markers along with public information kiosks. All of that stuff just serves as reminders that Greater Fort Lauderdale offers some of the best beaches anywhere. Of course I live here, so no one really has to tell me about that. I can see it for myself.