EM:/ Michigan beaches among dirtiest in US

Friends,
Don't be so quick to judge Michigan beaches. There is a lot to look at behind the scenes.  For example, how frequently are the beaches tested?  Even with Michigan's health depts. budgets being cut so much over the last decade, one would want to compare the frequency with other states.

Secondly, and this could go in either direction, when were the samples taken?  I know that Huron Clinton Metro Parks used to have their beaches sampled in the wee hours of the morning when the flow had carried most of the people poop on down stream.  Given the revenue impacts do you think HCMA was the only one "smart" enough to do that.  

What were the frequencies used by the different testing labs or personnel?  All of these factors and others play into the stats that get published :>)

On the other hand have you ever tested bath water?  Even restricted beaches are "pristine" by comparison - of course in your bathtub the bugs are yours.  Never-the-less, the health advisories are of concern on the one hand and in fact good since it means that our folks are testing and providing the public with useful information.
Regards,
Chuck

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Janet Kauffman 
  To: enviro-mich 
  Sent: Wednesday, July 29, 2009 9:00 AM
  Subject: EM:/ Michigan beaches among dirtiest in US


  http://www.freep.com/article/20090729/NEWS05/907290318/Area-beaches-among-dirtiest


  Michigan beaches among dirtiest in U.S.
  BY TINA LAM
  FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER   July 29, 2009

  Those pure beaches Michigan touts in national TV ads may not be so pure after all.

  A national report issued today says Great Lakes beaches are among the nation's dirtiest: 15% of samples taken at those beaches last year showed they were unsafe for swimming, more than twice the national average.

  Of Michigan's 467 monitored beaches, 69 were closed or had health advisories last year -- up from 61 in 2007.

  More startling is the fact that nearly two-thirds of the sandy stretches that border Lake Michigan and about half the beaches on Lake Huron and on inland lakes are not tested. Beaches popular with tourists, like those at the Sleeping Bear Dunes, Point Betsie Lighthouse and Saugatuck Dunes State Park, aren't tested.

  Testing of beaches is done by local health departments and is not required by law. And although state and federal agencies help pay to test beaches, many local health departments still can't afford it.

  Problem hard to tackle, report says

  The 69 beach closures came because of high counts of Escherichia coli, or E. coli, in the water -- a sign of fecal contamination.


  On Tuesday, 13 beaches in Michigan were closed.


  Sewer overflows, failing septic systems, runoff from huge farms and geese and ducks taking over beaches all contribute. Swimming in contaminated water can cause gastric illnesses and infected sores.


  "There is serious pollution at Great Lakes beaches," said the authors of a report issued today by the National Resources Defense Council.   ...




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