Water
Great Lakes problems playing out on region’s beaches
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Great Lakes beaches are important indicators of ecosystem health.
They are plagued by sewer overflows, leaky septic tanks, polluted stormwater and invasive species.
Your search for beach monitoring returned 65 results
Echo
Federal officials weigh new beach health standard
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The current standard was set only for saltwater and involved too small of a sample of swimmers, critics say. It also overlooks the impact of certain pathogens. A new standard may allow greater local flexibility.
Clean beaches and water free from sewage: It’s up to us
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A dense population stresses Lake Michigan’s nearshore ecosystem.
Legislation to end sewage pollution highlights the issue, but fails to gain Congressional support.
Echo
Internet provides easy access to Great Lakes beach closures
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It is now easier than ever for people to find out if a Great Lakes beach is safe for swimming. Excluding New York, all of the Great Lakes states have websites dedicated to statewide beach closure information, so people can better avoid possible sickness. “The source of the data comes from all of the local health departments that collect water samples, get them tested, then report results according to public health code,” said Shannon Briggs, toxicologist at the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. Many of these websites are a result of funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s BEACH act grants. Grants have been given to eligible Great Lakes states since Congress passed the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health act in 2000 to improve beach monitoring and notification programs.
All of the Great Lakes states were given around $220,000 this year in BEACH act grants, according to the agency’s website.
The Chicago Way of protecting citizens at the beach
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Is predictive modeling of Chicago’s beach health sufficient?
Just when is it safe to let your kids swim in Chicago waters?
Apparently you make the call.
Echo
Great Lakes sewers, beaches are losers in proposed 2013 federal budget
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The Great Lakes seem to get a nice slice of the proposed 2013 federal budget with $300 million set aside for restoration. But other regional environmental programs took a hit.
Echo
Beach managers test for E. coli while another germ goes undetected
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While health agencies look for faster ways to detect harmful E. coli bacteria on public beaches, they overlook another germ that may cause even greater problems.
Echo
Local health, bacteria data could curb Great Lakes beach closings
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Beach managers look at health data and bacteria levels when deciding whether or not to close Great Lakes beaches.
But vague federal standards and a one-size-fits-all approach may be leading to more regional beach closures than necessary.
Echo
Green buffers keep birds from fouling beaches
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A big stretch of white, sandy beaches is a picturesque scene for vacationers looking to swim, read or build sandcastles. But a clear shoreline on Great Lakes beaches can also attract pests — birds.
Nearshore
Great Lakes states struggle with unequal federal funding for beaches
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In the midst of summer beach season, some Great Lakes states are having to pick which beaches they’ll monitor for contamination with what critics say is an unfair distribution of federal funds.
Funding predicted for 2011 indicates that states with more beaches aren’t receiving substantially more funding to monitor them.