HDNW begins annual Beach Monitoring Program

NORTHERN MICHIGAN — The Health Department of Northwest Michigan will resume its annual Beach Monitoring Program on Monday, June 17.

Throughout the summer, water sampling will take place at about 50 locations on the Great Lakes and inland lakes in Antrim, Charlevoix, Emmet and Otsego counties.

As a part of the program, HDNW staff take water samples at area beaches early in the morning and then deliver the samples to Northern Michigan Regional Lab in Gaylord for evaluation. The testing checks for potentially high levels of bacteria, specifically E. coli.

Results from the testing are shared with HDNW Environmental Health Director Jeremy Fruk. If elevated levels of E. coli are found, the health department will then issue a beach advisory and take another water sample.

A beach advisory is a temporary recommendation advising people not to enter the water or limit their contact with the water, depending on the E. coli level. When an advisory is in place, signs are posted at the beach for public awareness.

Once testing shows that the water is safe, the advisory is canceled and the signs are removed.

New this summer, the health department will be using same-day reporting at eight beaches, with plans to expand to more locations. The change is designed to provide the public with more timely information on when an advisory is issued and lifted.

The beaches chosen for this new process were based on five-year averages of where the most advisories have been issued.

“Between the same-day reporting and the source-tracking, we hope to provide quicker responses for issuing and lifting advisories,” Fruk said in a press release. “The people who live on or near the lake, and seasonal tourists who visit our beaches, have come to trust that the water is being monitored for their safety. We want our community to be able to recreate safely!”

Beginning on June 21, a chart of the week’s tests and their results will be posted at nwhealth.org/beach-monitoring-program each Friday.

Water quality results for beaches statewide is also available through the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy at egle.state.mi.us/beach.

— Contact Jillian Fellows at jfellows@petoskeynews.com.