LAKETOWN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — As beaches start welcoming more visitors this summer, those in charge of their upkeep are working to make sure they’re safe.
The Allegan County Health Department is already busy taking water samples from a number of Lake Michigan and inland beaches to test for E. coli levels.
The testing, funded by two grants from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, aims to ensure the water is safe for citizens to swim in, stand in or be near. It will continue through Labor Day weekend.
So what happens if one of the tested water samples delivers a high level of the bacteria? Would the beach be shut down? For how long? All of these questions are answered on a case-by-case basis, the health department says.
If high levels were found, the department would issue an advisory to the public. But that wouldn’t automatically cause a shutdown. That is up to the townships that run the beaches.
“We can advise and say, ‘Hey, these levels are too high enough to where we would advise to shut it down,’” health department spokesperson Jackson Braunz said. “We would also send out an advisory and put that on our website. But for the most part, if there is higher levels at any of these sites that we are doing beach testing for, we will alert people via our website.”
If the beach does close to the public, it can take days or even weeks before it opens back up. When E. coli is found in the water, Braunz said, there isn’t much the department can do to remedy it right away and it will likely be up to Mother Nature to solve it through the movement of the waves.
That shouldn’t deter you from enjoying the beach. According to Laketown Township, in the past 13 years of testing, there have been high bacteria levels on only three days at Laketown Beach and it was closed during those times. The last time the levels posed a risk was in July 2021.
If you’re still uneasy about swimming at your favorite beach, Braunz said there are ways to minimize your risk of getting sick. He said to avoid swimming if you have open wounds, not swallow any of the water and be sure to wash yourself off when you get out of the water.
“It’s simple stuff like that is really going to make the difference,” he said.
The health department also released a list of ways that you can help avoid contaminating the beaches while you’re out this summer, including properly disposing of trash, animal waste and boat waste and using the restroom before hopping in the water.
You can always stay ahead of potential advisories by checking out the health department’s website or its social media pages.
