Beach funding dwindles

Michigan received $152,000 in federal grants in 2014 to monitor the cleanliness of its lakes and beaches.

That’s more than $200,000 less than the state was allotted in 2013.

Belle Isle water prompts concern

(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