U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Beach Health: Safe to Swim? Dr. Shannon Briggs Michigan Department of Environmental Quality June 19, 2009

Lake Michigan near Brevort We enjoy looking at beautiful beaches …

Head over heels in love with our water! We just don’t look at it or drink it, we play in it!

Field Gear for Collecting Samples SAMPLE BOTTLE IDENTIFIED MONITORING POINTS SAMPLING POLE COOLER WITH WHEELS TRAINED STAFF WADERS ICE PACKS GLOVES, etc

Water samples collected, store on ice, < 6 hour holding time Give lab 2 hours to prepare samples

Recreational Water Illness Salmonella C. perfringens C. botulinum Campylobacter enterococci E. coli

Some of the E. coli Methods approved by the US EPA Current methods requires incubation time m-Tec, 24 to 48 hours IDEXX Colilert, 24 hours IDEXX Colilert-18, 18 hours

Some of the enterococci Methods approved by the US EPA Current methods requires incubation time USEPA Method 1600 (mEI agar) 24 hours IDEXX Enterolert, 24 hours

Example of Posted Sign

Monday, June 15, 2009

WATER WAS BAD YESTERDAY DON’T KNOW ABOUT TODAY COME BACK TOMORROW

TOMORROW WATER WAS BAD AGAIN YESTERDAY WE STILL DON’T KNOW ABOUT TODAY WE CAN TELL YOU THAT TOMORROW

THE NEXT DAY IF YOU SWAM YESTERDAY, YOU’RE OKAY, WATER WAS FINE! TODAY “MIGHT” BE OKAY TOO BUT - WE WON’T SAMPLE AGAIN UNTIL NEXT THURSDAY HAVE A NICE DAY

Water Quality Daily Forecasts Beach Message Signs Maintained by Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) Courtesy of Calum McPhail, SEPA

Aberdeen beach 3 advisories Excellent, Good, or Poor Guideline / Mandatory / Fail

Website Phone line Phone TEXT How daily signage is posted

What happens when your beach is closed?

Questions raised due to beach closings: Why? Who’s responsible? Public Meeting for Sugar Island Beach When will it re-open?

McDowell contacted Congressman Bart Stupak “I just couldn’t believe how bad the situation was.”

Congressman Bart Stupak

Senator Levin’s office set up meeting to include Members of the Canadian Embassy, Senator Stabenow’s office, and Congressman Stupak’s office.

Investing in Beaches = Investing in Community TimeEnjoyment ExpertiseConfidence EffortsBeachesGrowth Research Public Health Funding Revenue CollaborationExperience

“Therefore, we strongly encourage you to reconsider the formula used to distribute BEACH Act grants to states.”

“Michigan with 3,224 miles of shoreline and 4.8 million people living near the coast gets less money than American Somoa which has 126 miles of shoreline and 57,291 people living near the coast.”

Saginaw Bay Coastal Initiative Members of Congress: Candice S. Miller Dale E. Kildee Bart Stupak Senators: Carl Levin Debbie Stabenow Dr.A Yeung-Cheung

Great Lakes Success Stories Lake County HD, IL Cuyahoga County HD, OH Milwaukee HD, WI Indiana Dunes Natl Lakeshore Gary Sanitation District, IN Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (37 beaches in Duluth) Chippewa County HD, MI Presque Isle St Pk, PA 16 State Parks in NY City of Racine HD, WI City of Marquette, MI

Opportunities USEPA invested $522,824 into Great Lakes Beach Sanitary Surveys for 61 beaches Unknown Sources caused beach closures Before 84%After 24% Help us find $8,570 for your local beach

Memorial Day 2008, the GLRC Clean Beaches Initiative… encourages increased use of sanitary survey forms for tracking down sources of pollution causing beach closings and will provide information on other beach monitoring and man management resources through the GLRC Website.

Your link to 800 beach buddies! We transfer our expertise and experience in successful collaborations. Great Lakes Beach Association

Great Lakes Public Beaches

Good News Approx 80% of sample results meet water quality standards Goal is to have a beach open 95% of the season National average = beaches are open 95% of the time Approx 68% of the beaches can do this

Bad News, er… an opportunity National average 32% of beaches were closed in 2007

The Public Demands Action!

Highest Priority Issues for Beach Monitoring in Great Lakes Predictive Models multiple factors, provides answers now, potential for regional model (unmonitored areas) Need sufficient monitoring data (4-5 days/wk) Improve access to data (NOAA, etc) Need equipment (e.g., monitoring buoys) Need training and technical support

Highest Priority Issues for Beach Monitoring in Great Lakes Affordable Rapid Tests reduce delay, potential for source tracking Need to invest in technology Develop new technology Modify existing technology

…this is who we work for.