Wading vs. waiting: Can we speed the testing of beach waters?

Swimming season 2026 may quickly be fading into memory, but it’s still top of mind for some in Michigan. They’re thinking about how recreational beaches are monitored for water quality and if there are better ways to do it.

Michigan’s 1,000-plus public beaches draw millions of beachgoers every summer. But increased stormwater runoff from heavy rains and extreme weather show how vulnerable these shorelines are to bacterial contaminants such as E. coli. Runoff often carries biological waste that can make people and animals sick, and warmer waters can be more susceptible to toxic algal blooms.

Now, new onsite testing approaches could determine whether swimming is safe in as little as 15 minutes instead of the hours or even days laboratory tests require.

The topic is high on the agenda of the National Beach Summit the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and the Great Lakes Beach Association are hosting Oct. 27-30 in Traverse City. The event will feature workshops, plenary sessions and breakouts, a student poster contest, recorded presentations, and more. An online option is also available. 

The recent tech advances opening new possibilities for beach monitoring include sanitary surveys, composite sampling, microbial source tracking, rapid lab and field testing, remote monitoring, predictive modeling, field test strips for harmful algae, new analytical methods, and satellite imagery.

At Michigan Technological University (MTU), Assistant Professor of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering Ishi Keenum is part of a team evaluating a 15-minute endotoxin test to check for fecal pollution in Michigan surface waters. The test can detect toxins found in E. coli and other pathogens, such as shigella, salmonella, and pseudomonas.

“Current tests take eight to 24 hours for a result, depending on the type of testing used,” Keenum said. “This rapid test could enable public health departments to determine if a beach is safe at the time of sampling, rather than the next day. This is important because it can prevent people from swimming in unsafe waters and also can enable sites to be reopened after closure faster.”

The team is gathering data from Great Lakes and inland lake beaches across the state in a research project funded by the four Michigan public universities designated “R1” for their high levels of research activities: MTU, University of Michigan (UM), Michigan State University (MSU), and Wayne State University (WSU). The work is backed by a Livable Futures-Water Collaboration Grant through Research Universities for Michigan, or RU4M.

The lab of Professor Jeffrey Ram at WSU’s Department of Physiology is looking into sites to try the endotoxin test in Wayne County while Keenum partners with Lake Superior State University in the Sault Ste. Marie area.

Michigan is already a leader in beach testing. Backed by EGLE, a network of labs partners with local health departments and partners for beach testing and identifying sources of contamination. EGLE supported several local health departments trying out the 15-minute test this past summer.

EGLE’s BeachGuard portal hosts health departments’ advisories from about 400 beaches a year tested for water quality during the swim season. Over the Independence Day holiday weekend in July 2026, for example, BeachGuard showed at least 10 Michigan beaches closed to swimming due to high bacteria counts.

The current polymerase chain reaction testing used to detect the DNA of microorganisms in water samples produces fairly quick results (two to four hours) but requires specialized lab equipment and trained personnel. Traditional culture-based testing takes 18-24 hours. And limited staffing and tight budgets often prevent health departments from testing daily.

Water Microbiologist Nishita D’Souza, with MSU’s Department of Fisheries and Wildlife is working with the Oakland County Health Division to pilot a more intensive schedule of five-day-a-week testing across 12 sites.

One potential advantage of the endotoxin test is that it doesn’t require specialized technicians or facilities. If beach lifeguards or community members could be trained to use it, more beaches could potentially be tested more often. 

Meanwhile, Public Health Epidemiologist Marisa Eisenberg at UM’s School of Public Health is analyzing 20 years of beach and weather data supplied by EGLE to predict when contamination is most likely to close beaches.