are in it. it looks good, looks pretty, but it's not. >> reporter: well, that depends upon who you talk with. >> right now, i would go into the water. >> reporter: dr. john landsa heads the county health department. he bleechs the water is safe unless you see tar balls or sheen on the water or you feel oily and not from suntan lotion. for now, the county commission is not banning swimming until the epa gives them concrete guidance. >> until we get a standard from the epa on the levels of the petro chemicals in the water so that we don't suggest people go into the water specifically for that, we can't do anything. >> there's nothing i'm going to be able to tell you in a chemical lab that you can't learn about the safety of the water from a bathing purpose by looking at it and smelling it. >> reporter: it looked pretty good to the family vacationing from oklahoma. they played in the surf. they hadn't seen the "avoid the water" sign and no one told them not to go in.