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http://www.freep.com/news/locmac/ecoli27e_20050727.htm
It's a health threat simple enough for 12-year-olds to grasp: Inadequate sewer systems release human feces into waterways. Bacteria counts skyrocket. Beaches close. But in Macomb County, that linear equation is bent. Beach closings are on pace with last year despite a dramatic decrease in sewage overflows. What's going on? "It's the sand, stupid," concluded federal aquatic ecologist Richard Whitman and a handful of other experts who met with Macomb County officials and activists earlier this month. New research with ramifications for beachgoers throughout the Great Lakes suggests the bacteria that triggers beach closings, E. coli, thrives in the wet sand at the shoreline. When wind and wave conditions are right, the stuff gets dragged out into shallow water. Health officials test the water. E. coli counts trigger shutdowns. No sewage necessary.
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