Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Media contact: Anne Perry Moore (218) 723-2356 Technical contact: Heidi Bauman (218) 723-4953 Toll-free (voice and TTY): (800) 657-3864 DULUTH, Minn. -- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) beach monitoring program staff will kick off its fourth season of sampling water at 39 public access points along Lake Superior's North Shore on May 22. Staff began preseason water testing at 10 sites frequented by kayakers and other cold-water sports enthusiasts on May 1. "Over the past three years, we've identified several possible weather-related indicators that may mean we'll be posting 'water contact not recommended' advisory signs at public beaches," Heidi Bauman, MPCA beach program coordinator, said "When rain or windy storms churn up the water, illness-causing bacteria can be either washed into the lake or flushed out of the sediment. Our job is to notify people before they enter the water at affected sites to use another access point or swimming beach." Last year, beach staff posted 28 advisory signs at 12 of the program's 39 sites. As a result, 128 days were considered lost to recreational use. "Despite those statistics, it's important to note that 21 of the monitored swimming beach areas were unaffected by illness-causing bacteria last year," Bauman said. "And no related illnesses were reported to county health departments." Of the 2,230 water samples collected at beaches in 2005, 97 percent were below advisory levels for E. coli and fecal coliform bacteria. In addition to posting ongoing monitoring and water-sampling data on their Web site, beach program staff now offers water enthusiasts a new Web link from which to view lake and estuary bacteria data in real time. Developed with the University of Minnesota - Duluth's Natural Resources Research Institute and funded by Minnesota's Coastal Program and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the public can see changes in bacteria counts over time compared with temperature, precipitation, wave height and wind direction factors. This interactive tool also provides resource agencies, consulting firms, nongovernmental organizations and universities, teachers and students with helpful surface water data. Because Minnesota does not currently require beach testing, the state inconsistently issues announcements of unsafe swimming conditions and other water-sampling information. The federal Beach Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act, an amendment to the Clean Water Act, calls on Minnesota and other states with coastal waters to monitor water quality at public beaches and to improve how they notify the public about health risks at beaches. For more information about the beach program, call Heidi Bauman at (218) 723-4953 or (800) 657-3864. Or visit the program's Web page at http://www.mnbeaches.org, where you can sign up to receive a free beach ball if you register to receive beach advisory alerts. The site also offers maps of the monitoring sites, historical water-monitoring data from all 39 beach locations, and last year's program and monitoring report. Interested persons may also call the program's hotline at (218) 725-7724 for the latest beach advisory information.