(MI) Jackson Citizen Patriot – Environmental groups are continuing their fight against Consumers Energy’s plans to build a new coal plant near Bay City, outlining Thursday some of the environmental and economic impacts.

By Haley Walker, Alice Rossignol and Emma Ogutu
Maintaining a pool to be healthy and safe is not easy.
And Kevin Hoard would know.
As a certified pool operator at Michigan State University, he’s had 70 hours of official pool maintenance training.
“It updates us on the current codes, concerns and disease prevention,” Hoard said. “It makes sure we’re in compliance with the law.”

(IL) Chicago Tribune – In what could be the state’s largest collective gulp of Lake Michigan water in nearly two decades, 10 suburbs are seeking approval to tap the vast but closely guarded natural resource.

(MI) Detroit Free Press - Attorney General Mike Cox has started www.stopasiancarp.com, a Web site urging Great Lakes residents to demand action against Asian carp.

(WI) Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - The growing population of the gray wolf in Wisconsin represents a remarkable comeback for the animal.But the wolf’s robust population also has created problems and heightened tensions in some quarters.

By Haley Walker, Alice Rossignol and Emma Ogutu
Jan. 14, 2010
Three years ago a 6-year-old boy was rushed to intensive care when someone put the wrong amount of chemicals into a Nebraska motel pool.

He and 23 other people suffered digestive, eye and respiratory problems when a pool operator used the wrong ratio of chlorine and ammonia. The boy was hospitalized in pediatric intensive care.

Public pools in any community are recreational havens. They can also be health hazards. While the most common safety risk associated with swimming is usually drowning, few think of water quality.

Jan. 14, 2010
What’s in the water: How the quality of the water in your pool affects your health. Bacteria and parasites in a pool can cause water illnesses in swimmers. Great Lakes Echo investigates how safe public pools are in Ingham County, Mich.
Special Feature
Common Recreational Water Illnesses. Humans can contact a range of illnesses from poorly maintained pools. Learn about …

Unsure of how well a pool is maintained? You can test the water yourself. Swimmers can test the chemical levels of a pool before they swim by using  testing kits purchased from home improvement or pool chemical stores.
Test strips:

Test strips are chemically treated to react by producing a certain color upon dipping in the water.
The testing kits come with  instructions for collecting water or simply dipping a strip in the pool.
Certain duration of time is needed for the strips to react with the chemical in the water before an …

The CDC recommends the following practices to protect swimmers from water-related illnesses:

Don’t swim when you have diarrhea.

Shower with soap before swimming and wash your hands after using the toilet or changing diapers.

Don’t swallow pool water and avoid getting water in your mouth.

If the pool has a strong chlorine smell, it is usually an indication that the water is unhealthy. The smell comes when the chlorine is combined with bodily fluids such as saliva, urine, feces, sweat or body oils.

Take your children on bathroom breaks and check diapers often.

Change diapers in …

Cryptosporidium (Crypto)
Crypto is a diarrheal disease caused by a parasite. Infection occurs from ingesting or swimming in contaminated water. Common symptoms include diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, fever and stomach cramps.  The parasite is protected by an outer shell that allows it to survive for long periods and makes it very resistant to chlorine.

Shigella
Shigella is a group of bacteria that cause fever, diarrhea and stomach cramps usually a day or two after exposure. The diarrhea is usually bloody but goes away in five to seven days.  Infection occurs from contact with …