Almost at every Santa Rosa County board of commissioners meeting, local Flood Defender Chris Curb, speaks to the commissioners during public forum encouraging them to use current rainfall data rather than the 1979 rainfall data they are currently using.

In late July, as the sun blazed over Navarre Beach and vacationers flocked to the Gulf, a health advisory blindsided visitors and locals alike. The Santa Rosa County Health Department issued a no-swimming warning due to high levels of Enterococcus bacteria—a dangerous signal that the water could pose serious risks to human health. But while the advisory itself was necessary and scientifically justified, what followed—or rather, what didn’t follow—may have created an even bigger problem. The silence.