beach-goers go high tech!
California beach-goers are going high tech! Heal The Bay and Go Live Mobile (a mobile marketing company) have joined forces to update residents with a beach report card. Instead of heading out to a beach, only to be disappointed by poor water quality, people can send a text message to 23907 with the name of the beach they’d like information on. A text message will be sent in reply with that particular beach’s weekly grade. Heal The Bay has published the Beach Report Card since 1990, but this will be the first time that California’s analysis of beach water quality will be available via cell phone. Thanks to mobile marketing, residents will be able to stay informed and safe.
I’d love to see this rolled out in other parts of the country. We have a horrible problem with Red Tide here in the Tampa Bay area, and it would be nice to get a quick update before heading to the beaches, especially for people like me who live farther away from the Gulf of Mexico.
There is a great Beach report website (http://coolgate.mote.org/beachconditions/) that currently covers Manatee and Sarasota County beaches in Florida. The report covers red tide symptoms, such as respiratory irritation and dead fish present, but also covers the condition of the surf, water color, wind conditions, and the color of beach flag that is currently flying. The report is updated twice daily. While it’s not quite as handy as having the report text messaged to your cell phone, it still provides information before you leave your house for the beach and allows beachgoers to make better informed decisions on how to spend their day! The system is being expanded to cover most of SW FL, including Pinellas Co. beaches, so stay tuned!!