[beachnet] U.S./Canadian commission examines inconsistent water quality monitoring

Please see the entire article at 
http://greatlakesecho.org/2009/10/05/uscanadian-commission-examines-inco
nsistent-water-quality-monitoring/ 

By Rachael Gleason
rachaelkaygleason at gmail.com
Great Lakes Echo
Oct. 6, 2009


Editors note: This is part of a series relevant to the International
Joint commission's biennial meeting in Windsor on Wednesday and
Thursday.


 
<http://greatlakesecho.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/beachbacteriasampl
ing6.jpg> 

United States Geological Survey scientists sample bacteria at Clinch
Beach in Traverse City, Mich. Photo: U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency.

More than 20,000 beaches closed last year when water samples tested
positive for harmful bacteria.

But inconsistent sampling methods have Great Lakes officials questioning
those results.

  <http://www.greatlakesecho.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=18&p=37#p37>


See poll.

The International Joint Commission
<http://www.ijc.org/en/home/main_accueil.htm> , a binational
organization that advises the U.S. and Canada on Great Lakes issues,
examined problems with beach testing methods and advisory systems in a 
report <http://meeting.ijc.org/reports>  released last month.

It is among the issues to be discussed at the commission's biennial 
meeting <http://meeting.ijc.org/>  Wednesday and Thursday in Windsor.

And it's a good time to do so, according to Julie Kinzelman, a research
scientist for the Racine Health Department in Wisconsin and board member
of the Great Lakes Beach Association. <http://www.great-lakes.net/glba/>


"The United States and Canadian Water Quality Agreement is under
revision, so this is the appropriate time to develop water quality
criteria and test methods," she said.

Officials test beach water for Escherichia coli
<http://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/> , which can cause human sickness, but is
used primarily as an indicator of sewage and other pollution problems,
according to the commission report.

In both countries, the national environmental agencies set the
guidelines for testing the water, but it's up to the local governments
to do the testing.

Read the rest of this article >
<http://greatlakesecho.org/2009/10/05/uscanadian-commission-examines-inc
onsistent-water-quality-monitoring/#more-11311> 

 

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