Letter to the Editor: Clean Water is Not Something to be Taken for Granted

Thank you to the Peninsula Pulse for the recent Sustainability Issue, Healthy Waters [April 19-26], a comprehensive look at how best to protect the water quality on the Door peninsula. As an open-water swimmer, I take a personal interest in making sure I swim in clean water. I usually swim from April to November on both sides of the peninsula, so I experience firsthand the difference in water quality depending where I swim. 

I was particularly impressed with the “Portrait of a Remediated Beach,” detailing the efforts made at Egg Harbor beach to ensure good water quality. The Village of Egg Harbor has worked to upgrade their beach environment, adding dune grass, biofilters, stone walls, permeable pavers in the parking lot and signage limiting pets and pet waste. The park staff also grooms the beach daily in summer helping to alleviate bird droppings from seeping into the water. All of this adds up to better water quality. Egg Harbor beach is actually one of my favorite swimming spots.

I’m also a big fan of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh’s summer water-testing program, an ongoing effort to test water quality for the presence of E.coli at approximately 32 beaches in Door County. The data noted in this article confirm what I’ve suspected: the more crowded beaches often have the poorest water quality. I always take notice at the five beaches that have posted signs showing water quality for beach goers. At Baileys Harbor Ridges beach, where I swim often, the sign is helpful to me because I will be in the water  swimming for an extended time. 

Surprisingly, Sister Bay has declined to allow a water-quality sign at its popular beach. It’s unfortunate since it’s often a crowded beach. Visitors deserve to be informed how clean the water is. Having to close beaches due to E.coli in the middle of the busy summer season is not a good look.

Bravo to Debra Fitzgerald and her team at the Pulse for the excellent Sustainability Issue. Clean water is not something to be taken for granted. 

Margaret Carroll

Sister Bay, Wisconsin