MPCA Home > Water > Minnesota Lake Superior Beaches Program

Minnesota is a member of the Coastal Swimming Beach Monitoring Program for coastal recreation waterways, funded by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant.

Lake Superior is Minnesota’s only coastal recreation waterway, and 2003 was the first year that monitoring for bacteria occurred along the northern shores of Lake Superior.

The program is administered through the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and is a cooperative effort between the MPCA, Minnesota Department of Health, county health and environmental departments, and private and public organizations along Minnesota’s Lake Superior shore.

The goal of the Minnesota Lake Superior Beach Monitoring Program is to assure a safe and healthy aquatic recreational environment by informing the swimming public about risk of contracting waterborne diseases from exposure to contaminated waters.

For More Information

For more information about beach monitoring activities in Minnesota, or for current and historical beach status information,

• visit the Minnesota Lake Superior Beach Monitoring Program site , or
• call the Lake Superior Beach Hotline at 218-725-7724, or
• contact: Heidi Bauman, Minnesota BEACH Program Coordinator, 218-723-4953 or 1-800-657-3864 (fax 218-723-4727).