BeachGuard is on duty this summer to protect Michiganders’ health and safety

Michigan’s public beaches are a great summertime getaway, but unfortunately, not every beach is suited for swimming and splashing every day. Wildlife waste (especially from waterfowl), agricultural runoff, pet manure, wastewater spills, toxic algae, and leaking septic systems can make beaches temporarily unhealthy and off-limits to the public.

That’s where BeachGuard comes in.

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) has launched an enhanced version of the online notification system for beach closures and advisories. The user-friendly tool, added to EGLE’s informational MiEnviro Portal at mienviro.michigan.gov, makes it easier than ever for the public to access beach water quality notices statewide. New features include:

• Options to organize data by county, ownership, or closures.
• Options for viewing the map from street or satellite views.
• The ability for users to sign up for and manage custom alerts.

Michigan has more than 1,000 public beaches. Some local ordinances mandate beach water quality testing, but no state or federal laws do.

Under the state’s public health code, authority to monitor public beaches and close them based on conditions rests with local health officers – typically regional or county health departments. These departments regularly monitor about 400 beaches each year. EGLE provides many of them with state and federal funds to support monitoring.

The most common source of beach contamination is feces. Typically, after a rainstorm, everything on land gets washed into the surface waters including beaches. Monitoring for the presence of E. coli bacteria serves as an indicator that other harmful microbes, such as cryptosporidium, giardia, shigella, and norovirus, may be present.

Diseases acquired from contact with contaminated water can cause gastrointestinal illness; neurological symptoms; wound infections; and affect the skin, ears, eyes, and respiratory systems. The most commonly reported symptoms are stomach cramps, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and low-grade fever. 

Beach water quality typically recovers in a day or two after a spike from rainfall.

While the ideal is always no contamination and zero beach closures, it’s typical to have a small number of closures at any given time during beach season. The number fluctuates based on conditions and testing. 

EGLE Water Resources Division staff monitor Michigan’s surface waters but not beaches specifically. Owners of private beaches may call their local health department for advice or to find a lab to have their samples tested, and the owners will pay for the testing.

Local health departments supply the information collected in the BeachGuard tool and have the most current information and details on testing and current guidance. 

Michigan’s E. coli Pollution and Solution Mapper has for more information about E. coli monitoring and impaired waters.

In addition to heeding closures and advisories, recommendations for save beachgoing include:

• Not swimming with cuts or wounds that could be exposed to bacteria in the water.
• Staying out of the water if you are ill with vomiting or diarrhea to avoid exposing others to germs.
• Washing hands before eating or preparing food and after using a restroom.
• Showering after swimming.
• Not swimming near storm drains or for two to three days after a heavy rain.
• Disposing properly of human and dog waste.