2008 Swimming Season Update

Features

Minnesota

May 2009

Introduction
2008 Summary Results
For More Information
PDF Version (2 pp, 411K, About PDF) of this document
Raw data (XLS) (100K) for Minnesota

Introduction

drawing of the state of Minnesota with counties identified in green

Figure 1. Minnesota coastal counties.

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 Minnesota for the 2008 swimming season.

Going to “The Lake” is one of the most popular summer activities along Minnesota’s Lake Superior coastline. Whether visitors go to the beach to kayak, swim, surf, or look for agates, water quality can have a significant impact on a beachgoer‘s experience.

Between Memorial Day and Labor Day each year, Minnesota conducts a program for monitoring the bacteria content of the recreational waters along the Minnesota Lake Superior shoreline that are publicly owned. A partnership effort between Minnesota’s Pollution Control Agency, Department of Natural Resources, county health departments and private/public organizations in the region provides the citizens of Minnesota with specific and timely information regarding water quality conditions. Water is collected from each beach at least once per week during the season. Samples are analyzed for E. coli content and the results are made available to the public.

Minnesota has partnered with the Natural Resources Research Institute to develop the Minnesota Lake Superior Beach Monitoring Program Web site. The Web site allows the public access to real time data and advisory information for all of Minnesota's Lake Superior beaches. It also allows the public to sign up to receive e-mail notification of advisories for beaches of their choice.

Table 1. Breakdown of monitored and unmonitored coastal beaches by county for 2008.
County	Total Beaches	Monitored	Not Monitored
Cook	22	11	11
Lake	23	11	12
St. Louis	34	18	16
Totals	79	40	39

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2008 Summary Results

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

Bar Graph of Beach notification actions by duration

Figure 2: Beach notification actions by duration.

When water quality standards are exceeded at a particular beach, Minnesota’s approach is to issue a beach advisory that warns people to avoid contact with the water. A total of 13 monitored beaches had at least one advisory issued during the 2008 swimming season. About 45 percent of Minnesota’s 33 notification actions lasted two days or less. Figure 2 presents a full breakdown of notification action durations.

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What percentage of days were beaches under a notification action?

Pie Chart of Beach days with and without notification actions

Figure 3: Beach days with and without notification actions.

For Minnesota’s 2008 swimming season, actions were reported about 5 percent of the time (Figure 3).

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How do 2008 results compare to previous years?

Table 2 compares 2008 notification action data with monitored beach data from previous years.

Table 2. Beach notification actions, 2006–2008.
Year	2006	2007	2008
Number of monitored beaches	39	39	40
Number of beaches affected by notification actions	9	18	13
Percentage of beaches affected by notification actions	23%	46%	32%
Percentage of beach days affected by notification actions	6%	4%	5%

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What pollution sources possibly affect investigated monitored beaches?

Figure 4 displays the percentage of Minnesota’s investigated monitored beaches possibly affected by various pollution sources. In 2008, all of the beaches where sources were investigated included stormand nonstorm-related runoff, wildlife, and other/unidentified as possible sources of pollution.