NEWS
Madison beaches close frequently due to high bacteria test levels
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by Megan Costello
Friday, September 3, 2004
Several Madison beaches on Lakes Mendota, Monona and Wingra closed during the summer months due to unacceptable levels of bacteria.
“The beach closings aren’t unusual. The levels have actually been slightly lower this year,” said Kirsti Sorsa, Environmental Technical Services supervisor at the Madison Public Health Department. “But if heavy rains come, closings can still be expected.”
Heavy rainfall generally raises the amount of bacteria, but fecal pollutants from streams, high winds and waterfowl also negatively affect water purity.
However, those faithful to the lakes have not been deterred by the conditions.
“Even though the water is dirty, it doesn’t keep me off the lake,” University of Wisconsin senior and co-captain of the sailing team Anne Porter said.
Porter has spent the better part of her college years on lakes — her first two on the UW crew team and the last two on the UW sailing team.
“The team is more cautious about getting in if the water is dirty,” Porter said. “But we always do.”
The team cleans up the water near the sailing site on Lake Mendota by picking up seaweed and dead fish, she noted.
“We wash the boats once a sailing season because of build-up, but we may have to clean them more than once if the lake is especially dirty,” Porter said.
The MPHD conducts weekly samplings of Madison beaches to determine if the water is safe for swimming. The MPHD samples both bacteria and algae levels, focusing mainly on the bacteria counts, specifically E. coli.
Further preventative testing for beach closings, such as daily testing instead of weekly, is being pursued, Sorsa said.
Weekly testing, however, is expensive because it incorporates work from microbiology and chemistry labs as well as a team of field agents.
“We walk into about two-and-a-half feet of water and sample along the surface and a foot below the surface,” Sorsa said.
When samples are taken in shallow water, the levels of bacteria like E. coli are higher than in the EPA shoulder-height depth sampling.
“We sample near the shore where the numbers are higher because that is where kids swim,” Sorsa said. “And children are more susceptible to infections and illness from these bacteria.”
The MPHD, UW Health Services, UW Extension and various organizations recently conducted a two-year study — Environmental Monitoring for Public Access and Community Tracking — to monitor lake bacteria levels to determine beach closings.
According to the city of Madison Beaches website, their new predictive model assesses the risk of occurrence and beach-closure decisions.
Warmer weather spurs some of the stronger smells around the Lakeshore path and the Picnic Point area, according to Porter.
“In the past four years I’ve noticed the spring season is when Lake Mendota smells the worst with turnover and thawing,” Porter said.
Still, Porter can’t complain about annual beach closings.
“[The team] has sailed on much dirtier lakes on the East Coast and also down south,” Porter said. “It seems like the Midwest tends to be cleaner than those other sites. Most of those lakes don’t have proper drainage, or they’re polluted by the ocean or the Gulf.”
