Cherokee Sink closed
from http://www.tallahassee.com/article/2...ithout+permit+
June 10, 2009
Cherokee Sink won't reopen without permit
State park service can't afford $200,000 for public restrooms
By Gerald Ensley
Democrat Senior writer
Cherokee Sink is closed to public swimming — and there's no telling when it will reopen.
The state park service-owned sinkhole was closed by state health officials March 12, after high levels of bacteria were found in the sinkhole's water. Though such closures are routine and usually temporary, the discovery revealed Cherokee Sink never received a "public bathing place" permit, as required of all swimming areas in state parks.
The park service then applied for a bathing permit from the state Department of Health. But one of the chief requirements is permanent public restrooms; Cherokee Sink has only portable toilets. State park officials estimate public restrooms at Cherokee Sink would cost about $200,000 for construction and sewage — and they don't have the money right now.
"Currently, there are no funds available to construct a permanent restroom facility," said Jessica Kemper, Florida Park Service information director. "Until all the requirements of the bathing permit can be met, the park service is not authorized to reopen Cherokee Sink."
Cherokee Sink is a popular natural swimming hole across State Road 61 from Wakulla Springs State Park. It was purchased by the state in 1999 and operated since 2001 by Wakulla Springs State Park. Park manager Brian Fugate said 31,598 people visited Cherokee Sink last year.
Cherokee Sink was owned for decades by the St. Joe Co., which did not sanction its public use — even though thousands swam there — and thus was not required to have a permit. The state licenses 200 freshwater swimming areas on lakes and rivers, including all public swimming areas in state parks.
Bob Vincent, a Department of Health environmental administrator, said there were "hundreds of miles of rivers and lakes" without permits where people swim anyway.
"But if you hold yourself out as a public bathing area you have to (meet the permitting rules)," Vincent said. "We're trying to make it apparent to the public which ones are sanctioned, which ones are healthier and cleaner."
Why park officials did not previously apply for a permit for Cherokee Sink — even though the Wakulla Springs swimming area has long had one — is "a very good question," Vincent said. Vincent noted monthly water testing and the portable toilets indicated awareness of the permit's requirements.
Kemper said the park service operates no other sinkholes "that are primarily identified as swimming destinations," and the park service was "first notified that a bathing permit was necessary" when Cherokee Sink was closed in March. She said it was the first time Cherokee Sink had been closed because of water quality since the state began operating it in 2001.
Though she could offer no timetable, Kemper indicated Cherokee Sink would reopen.
"(The park service's) intention for Cherokee Sink is to maintain public access for swimming," Kemper said. "To do such, funding must be obtained to construct permanent restrooms and we cannot speculate on when this money will be allocated."
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