Beaches of the Freshwater Coast

Under the federal BEACH Act of 2000, EPA funds the coastal and Great Lakes states to test the water at their public beaches and tell swimmers when it is bad. Each state keeps the list, decides which beaches to sample and how often, and reports all of it to EPA. That list is this directory.

In fresh water the test is for E. coli, a gut bacterium that is harmless in itself but stands in for sewage, runoff and animal waste that carry the germs that actually make swimmers sick. When a sample runs over the state’s standard, the state or county posts an advisory (swimming not recommended) or, for worse or longer problems, a closure.

Rain is the usual trigger. A hard storm washes streets, farm fields and gull-fouled sand into the lake and can push sewer overflows out of river mouths, so beaches near rivers and storm drains go over the line most often. Give the water a day or two after a heavy rain.

Most tests grow bacteria in a lab for about a day, so a posting often describes yesterday’s water. Some programs now use faster DNA-based tests or rainfall models to post same-day calls. Either way, the state page is the authority on the day.

States also rank beaches by tier: heavily used beaches near pollution sources are Tier 1 and get sampled most; remote, lightly used ones may be listed but never sampled. 182 beaches in this directory are Tier 1.

Bacteria are not the only hazard. Western Lake Erie and some bays grow cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) blooms in late summer, which states advise on separately. And the biggest danger on a Great Lakes beach is not in the water sample at all: it is the waves. Read up on rip and structural currents before you swim.