Beach Report Praises Door County Program

The Natural Resources Defense Council lauded Door County’s beach monitoring program in its latest report on beachwater quality in Wisconsin. The “Testing the Waters” report credits the county for supplementing BEACH Act funding with additional resources to study rain events, stormwater runoff, and identifying species responsible for fecal bacteria contamination.

Door County beaches exceeded the state’s daily maximum bacterial standards in just two percent of samples, the lowest rate of the 13 counties reporting results (Marinette and Oconto counties did not participate in the BEACH Act program). Twenty-nine percent of Kenosha County’s samples exceeded the standard.

Wisconsin’s beaches were closed or had advisories posted on 735 days in 2010, an increase of 83 percent from 2009. Door County’s 31 monitored beaches were closed or posted advisories on 61 days in 2010, with the Fish Creek and Ephraim beaches posting 12 each.

Milwaukee County’s 11 monitored beaches were closed or had advisories posted 247 times in 2010.

Beaches at Murphy Park, Newport Bay, Percy Johnson, Portage, Rock Island, Sand Dune, Sand Bay, School House, Sturgeon Bay Canal, Whitefish Dunes and Whitefish Bay all had no closings or advisories in 2010.