Nearshore

Beach bacteria: Sand may be major source

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(IN) The News Dispatch – For years researchers looked at the water of Lake Michigan to find the source of high bacteria readings, but one source of outbreaks of E. coli may be in the beach sand. Bacteria counts tend to be much higher after storms send waves splashing ashore, with water returning to the lake through the sand. If the sand is aerated and allowed to dry in the hot sun, the bacteria die or diminish. The Michigan City Parks Department is testing that theory with a new method of beach grooming that puts little furrows into the sand instead of leveling it. That method of beach sand grooming in Racine, Wis., resulted in a 96 percent decline in the number of beach advisories for bacteria.

Nearshore

City looks to Racine, Wis., for help on reducing E. coli

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(IN) The News Dispatch – How can we reduce the amount of E. coli bacteria along the beach in Washington Park? That’s a question we asked Dr. Julie Kinzelman, research scientist and laboratory director for the city of Racine, Wis. While snowflakes were flying during a winter storm in February, Kinzelman came to Michigan City to share her expertise with several different local groups desiring to reduce the levels of E. coli in our local beaches. More

Nearshore

To weed or not to weed is the question around West Michigan lakes

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(MI) Grand Rapids Press – When Ron Myszak’s four fishing buddies came to his home on Myers Lake for the start of bass season Saturday, he hoped for pristine boating and angling conditions. “I like to fish, so I like to see a few weeds,” said Myszak, 71, who has lived on the Courtland Township lake for more than four decades. “Yet they do a good job of keeping it clean after they treat the lake.” Weed-control crews were on Myszak’s lake last week for the first of several herbicide treatments, a process that hundreds of local lakes and ponds will undergo this spring as boaters, swimmers and fishing enthusiasts return to the water. More

Nearshore

Disappearing beaches: Rising lake levels boon for boaters, bust for baskers

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(MI) The Holland Sentinel – Water levels in Lake Macatawa and Lake Michigan have risen 12 inches since May 2008, making life easier for local boaters yet tougher for those with lakefront property or wanting beach blanket space. Anchorage Marina Manager Cary Masters said after near-record lows just a few years ago, he’s excited to see water levels rebounding. He said the rise has saved his Park Township marina a significant amount of money.

Echo

Belle Isle water prompts concern

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(MI) The Detroit News – There isn’t much that’s tropical about Krystale Houston’s West Detroit neighborhood so, for her, the beach at Belle Isle Park is a real escape. In the summers, she and her friends try to get there every other day or so for swimming and sunning. But depending on which public beach you’re talking about in Metro Detroit, that water gets varying levels of attention from health officials charged with ensuring it’s safe to swim in. And while surrounding governments have compiled years of data on their beaches — telling them which times are most likely to produce E.coli contamination — Detroit’s only public beach at Belle Isle has never been monitored regularly. More