Great Lakes Echo (https://greatlakesecho.org/page/3/?s=beach+monitoring&x=0&y=0)
Great Lakes states once again dominated the bottom of a beach health and safety list released by the Natural Resources Defense Council before July 4 weekend.
But some Great Lakes beach and health experts say the council’s report inaccurately reflects monitoring methods and unfairly interprets state data.
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality’s mission to guarantee clean and safe recreational water resources includes an assessment plan to make the public aware of problems.
DEQ said it has five related goals: 1) enhance recreational waters, 2) ensure edible fish, 3) protect and restore aquatic ecosystems, 4) ensure safe drinking water and 5) protect public safety.
State agencies are striving to prepare Michigan’s recreational areas for the upcoming summer.
Great Lakes states placed in the bottom two-thirds of 30 states ranked recently by their 2009 beach water quality by the Natural Resources Defense Council.
By Rachael Gleason
rachaelkaygleason@gmail.com
Great Lakes Echo
Oct. 6, 2009
Editors note: This is part of a series relevant to the International Joint commission’s biennial meeting in Windsor on Wednesday and Thursday. More than 20,000 beaches closed last year when water samples tested positive for harmful bacteria. But inconsistent sampling methods have Great Lakes officials questioning those results. The International Joint Commission, a binational organization that advises the U.S. and Canada on Great Lakes issues, examined problems with beach testing methods and advisory systems in a report released last month.
Increasing competition for sales means that fewer drivers are buying the license plates that support environmental causes.
Great Lakes environmental issues are on tap Oct. 11-14 in Detroit. The stories below cover some of the issues that will be discussed during Great Lakes Week 2011 by four international organizations.
Oct. 14:
Making blue investments that yield green dividends
Blue investments in a green economy will be discussed Oct. 11-14 in Detroit at the 2011 Great Lakes Week.
More than 1,000 proposals requesting $946 million were trimmed to 270 finalists.
State park beaches across Michigan remain devoid of lifeguards to correct the flag system.
A Michigan State University study estimates that up to $5.9 million annually in economic activity is lost in Michigan’s small portion of Lake Erie due to harmful algal blooms.