^tDsrx • e. \ EPA's BEACH Report: Michigan 2010 Swimming Season May 2011 Introduction The BEACH Act of 2000 requires that coastal and Great Lakes states and territories report to EPA on beach monitoring and notification data for their coastal recreation waters. The BEACH Act defines coastal recreation waters as the Great Lakes and coastal waters (including coastal estuaries) that states, territories, and authorized tribes officially recognize or designate for swimming, bathing, surfing, or similar activities in the water. This fact sheet summarizes beach monitoring and notification data submitted to EPA by the State of Michigan for the 2010 swimming season. Figure 1. Michigan coastal counties. Hough gon Chippewa eboygan quelsl ena Eift Charlevoi na Leelanau" Menomi Benzi Maniste Mason Oceana Muskegon Ottawa Allegan Van Bure Arena Bay Tuscola Maco Way Monr6e Berrien [I lac itJCIair Table 1. Breakdown of monitored and unmonitored coastal beaches by county for 2010. County Total Beaches Monitored Not Monitored ALCONA 7 1 6 ALGER 12 0 12 ALLEGAN 5 4 1 ALPENA 14 5 9 ANTRIM 16 5 11 ARENAC 15 8 7 BARAGA 12 1 11 BAY 6 5 1 BENZIE 8 2 6 BERRIEN 21 14 7 CHARLEVOIX 20 9 11 CHEBOYGAN 13 4 9 CHIPPEWA 26 6 10 DELTA 28 0 28 EMMET 21 11 10 GOGEBIC 7 0 7 GRAND TRAVERSE 32 5 27 HOUGHTON 15 7 8 HURON 24 13 11 IOSCO 13 8 5 KEWEENAW 14 1 13 LEELANAU 39 7 32 LUCE 16 0 16 MACKINAC 34 2 32 MACOMB 4 4 0 MANISTEE 10 9 1 MARQUETTE 7 5 2 MASON 10 7 3 MENOMINEE 8 2 6 MONROE 3 3 0 MUSKEGON 13 12 1 OCEANA 8 5 3 ONTONAGON 10 2 8 OTTAWA 11 9 2 PRESQUE ISLE 22 3 19 SANILAC 12 5 7 SCHOOLCRAFT 9 2 7 ST, CLAIR 15 15 0 TUSCOLA 1 0 1 VAN BUREN 4 4 0 WAYNE 3 2 1 TOTALS 568 207 361 ------- 2010 Summary Results How many notification actions were reported and how long were they? When water quality standards are exceeded at a particular beach, Michigan issues a beach advisory that warns people to avoid contact with the water. A total of 59 monitored beaches had at least one advisory issued during the 2010 swimming season. About 67 percent of Michigan's 105 notification actions lasted two days or less. Figure 2 presents a full breakdown of notification action durations. What percentage of days were beaches under a notification action? For Michigan's 2010 swimming season, actions were reported about three percent of the time (Figure 3). How do 2010 results compare to previous years? Table 2 compares 2010 notification action data with monitored beach data from previous years. What pollution sources possibly affect investigated monitored beaches? Pollution sources were not investigated in 2010. Figure 2: Beach notification actions by duration. 501 1 2 3-7 8-30 Duration of Actions (Days) >30 Figure 3: For More Information For general information about beaches: www.epa.gov/beaches/ For information about beaches in Michigan: www.deq.state.mi.us/beach/ Table 2. Beach notification actions, 2008-2010. 2008 2009 2010 Number of monitored beaches 212 220 207 Number of beaches affected by notification actions 27 41 59 Percentage of beaches affected by notification actions 13% 19% 28% Percentage of beach days affected by notification actions 2% 3% 3% Beach days with no action _ 18,521 (96.8%) Beach days with and without notification actions. Beach days with an action: 621 (3.2%) ------- |