2007 Swimming Season Update

Features

Indiana

September 2008

Introduction
2007 Summary Results
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Introduction

Figure 1. Indiana coastal counties with 2007 monitored beach data.

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 coast 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 Indiana for the 2007 swimming season.

Table 1. Breakdown of monitored and unmonitored coastal beaches by county.
County	Total Beaches	Monitored
La Porte	9	9
Lake	9	9
Porter	10	10
Totals	28	28

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2007 Summary Results

How many notification actions were reported and how long were they?

Figure 2: Beach notification actions by duration.

Indiana's approach is to require beach managers to post an advisory or closure when water quality standards are exceeded at a particular beach. An advisory warns people that there is an increased health risk associated with entering the water and a closure warns people to completely avoid contact with the water. A total of 26 monitored beaches had at least one advisory issued during the 2007 swimming season. About 64 percent of Indiana's notification actions lasted two days or less. Figure 2 presents a full breakdown of notification actions.

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What percentage of days were beaches under a notification action?

Figure 3: Beach days with and without notification actions in 2007.

In 2007, about 17 percent of Indiana's total beach days were under an advisory or closing (Figure 3).

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How do 2007 results compare to previous years?

Table 2 compares 2007 notification action data with monitored beach data from previous years.

Table 2. Beach notification actions, 2005–2007.
Year	2005	2006	2007
Number of monitored beaches	25	29	28
Number of beaches affected by notification actions	12	15	26
Percentage of beaches affected by notification actions	48%	52%	93%
Percentage of beach days affected by notification actions	5%	3%	14%

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What pollution sources affect monitored beaches?

Figure 4 displays the percentage of Indiana's monitored beaches reporting impacts caused by various pollution sources. In 2007, 21 percent of the beaches reported being impacted by storm-related runoff. 100 percent of the beaches also reported being impacted by unidentified sources.