(Source: MIRS.news, Published 07/18/2023) Out of Michigan's 209 coastal beaches that were reportedly inspected for "fecal indicator bacteria" last year, 43% were possibly unsafe for swimming on at least one testing day, research shows.
"It's bacteria that indicates the presence of, well, no other way to say it … poop," said Clean Water Director John Rumpler of the Environment Michigan Research and Policy Center. "Let's just imagine it's only a handful of days (when) the beach is potentially unsafe. That's great, unless that happens to be the day that you pack your family into the car and drive an hour and a half to get to your favorite beach, and the conditions are unsafe."
Presently, testing for beach water quality is not required under federal or state law.
Local health departments can submit information on water quality sampling results, as well as beach closures and advisories, to the Michigan BeachGuard System, which is overseen by the state's Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE).
Technically, Michigan is home to 574 private and 1,255 public beaches. Rumpler, the co-author of his research center's "Safe for Swimming?" report, clarified that the study did not include data from inland lakes, rivers or streams.
Among the 209 beaches featured in Rumpler's report, which he discussed on this week's episode of the MIRS Monday Podcast, 18 of them carried potentially unsafe levels of fecal indicator bacteria on more than 25% of all testing days in 2022.
The Memorial Park Beach in St. Clair Shores, located on the shore of Lake St. Clair in Macomb County, was potentially unsafe for swimmers on 35 of its 48 testing days – or 73% – in 2022.
The Singing Bridge Beach, situated near Lake Huron's Saginaw Bay in Arenac County, was potentially unsafe for swimmers on eight of its 10 testing days, or 80%. Additionally, Belle Isle Beach in Detroit was possibly unsafe for swimming on four of its 10 testing days, or 40%.
In 2021, Belle Isle Park saw around 5.2 million visitors, according to numbers relayed by The Detroit News in spring 2022.
"All too often, pathogens from runoff pollution, potentially from factory farms, as well as sewage overflows, are making their way to our beaches and posing health risks for swimmers," Rumpler said. "We found that all too often, many of Michigan's beaches exceed a safety threshold for bacteria on some days – not all of the time, but on some days."
According to the "21st Century Infrastructure Commission Report" that was prepared for former Gov. Rick SNYDER in 2016, an average of 5.7 billion gallons of untreated sewage had flowed into Michigan's waterways since 2008.
Moreover, out of Michigan's 1.3 million septic systems at the time, at least 10% were estimated to be failing. Other calculations from multiple county-run inspection programs indicated that failure rates had reached roughly 25% for their systems.
Near the start of July, EGLE Public Information Officer Jeff Johnston informed MIRS that the state has improved its storm sewer systems to reduce the number of illegal overflows, adding that fecal contamination can also be linked to wildlife.
"I would say it's also important for people to use their good judgment," Johnston said. "Michiganders love and appreciate their waterways, and we want those interactions to be safe for everyone, so that means if the water looks cloudy, if it smells funny … then maybe you want to exercise caution and not get in."
In the Legislature-approved state budget for Fiscal Year 2024, which awaits the Governor's official signature, $233.2 million in leftover COVID-19 recovery funds from the federal government was dedicated to lead service line replacement, wastewater infrastructure upgrades and other water system initiatives.
The federal money was specifically directed to Eastpointe, Chesterfield and Centerline in Macomb County, the Downriver area, Genesee County, the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) and the communities of Delta Township, Midland, Saline, St. Clair, Hamtramck, Traverse City, Gibraltar, Milan, Wayne and Manchester.
"There's nothing glamorous about sewage, but you sure don't want to be swimming in it, so we just have to pay to ensure that we have sanitation," Rumpler said, explaining earlier that, "those pathogens can pose health risks for people. They're connected to illnesses like nausea and vomiting and diarrhea and skin rashes and ear infections and all that kind of stuff."
He referenced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has estimated that about 32 cases of illness occur per every 1,000 swimmers when the threshold used in Rumpler's research was exceeded.
For all Great Lakes beaches in the Midwestern region, the report found that 63% of beaches were potentially unsafe on at least one day in 2022. For East Coast beaches, 48% were possibly unsafe on at least one day, and the national number was 55%.
Meanwhile, for the West Coast, 70% of beaches were possibly unsafe on at least one day last year, as well as 84% of recorded Gulf Coast beaches.
"Given that we've seen a lot of rain this summer, it would not surprise me if the number of days where there were pathogens in the water increased this year from last year," Rumpler said about his early predictions for this year. "But, you know, we'd have to see how the rest of the summer plays out."
