&EFA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
EPA's BEACH Report:
Wisconsin 2011 Swimming Season
August 2012
EPA820-F-12-025
Introduction
The Beaches Environmental Assessment and
Coastal Health (BEACH) Act of 2000 authorizes
EPA to provide grants to coastal and Great Lakes
states, territories, and eligible tribes to monitor
their coastal beaches for bacteria that indicate the
possible presence of disease-causing pathogens
and to notify the public when there is a potential
risk to public health. The BEACH Act requires that
recipients of those grants report their coastal beach
monitoring and notification data to EPA. This fact
sheet highlights the data submitted to EPA by the
State of Wisconsin for the 2011 swimming season.
2011 Swimming Season
Monitoring and Notification
Actions
Wisconsin monitored 116 coastal beaches in
thirteen counties during the 2011 swimming
season (Figure 1 and Table 1). When monitoring
results at swimming beaches show that levels of
specific indicator bacteria in the water exceed
applicable water quality standards, Wisconsin
officials issue a beach advisory, warning people
of possible risks of swimming or close the beach
to public swimming until further monitoring
finds that water quality complies with applicable
standards. In some cases, advisories and closings
are issued preemptively (i.e., without having actual
bacteria monitoring results) due to storms or other
conditions that might affect swimmer safety.
Figure 1. Wisconsin coastal counties.
Manitowoc
Sheboygan
Ozaukee
Milwaukee
Racine
Table 1. Number of monitored and
unmonitored coastal beaches by
county for 2011.
Kenosha
^^^m
• County
ASHLAND
BAYFIELD
BROWN
DOOR
DOUGLAS
IRON
KENOSHA
KEWAUNEE
MANITOWOC
MARINETTE
MILWAUKEE
OZAUKEE
RACINE
SHEBOYGAN
TOTALS
Total
Beaches
7
17
3
31
12
5
5
2
9
6
11
7
2
8
125
Monitored
7
17
3
31
12
5
5
2
9
0
9
6
2
8
116
Not
Monitored
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
6
2
1
0
0
9
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Figure 2: Percent of beaches with one or
more notification actions
Figure 4: Percent of beach days open
and safe for swimming
Figure 3: Duration of beach notification
actions in 2011
How many beaches had notification actions?
In 2011, of the 116 coastal beaches that Wisconsin
monitored, 86 (74 percent) had at least one
notification action (Figure 2). This is approximately
the same as in most previous years with the
exception of 2009.
How many notification actions were issued and
how long did they last?
Wisconsin issued 438 notification actions during
the 2011 swimming season. Typically Wisconsin
lifts an action when follow-up monitoring indicates
that water quality complies with applicable
standards. For the majority of actions (92 percent)
water quality returned to normal and beaches were
deemed safe for swimming within one or two days
(Figure 3).
What percentage of days were beaches under
a notification action?
EPA calculates the total available beach days and
the number of beach days with notification actions
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
• To the Beach}
• To the Beach)
To the Beach)
94.4%
92.2%
96.4%
92.9%
93.3%
to better track trends over time. Total available
beach days are determined by multiplying the
length of the beach season by the number of
beaches in the state. For 2011 EPA calculated
that 10,710 beach days were associated with the
swimming seasons of the 116 monitored Wisconsin
beaches. Wisconsin reported notification actions
on 601 days, meaning that beaches were open
and safe for swimming about 94 percent of the
time. This continues the trend of consistently high
percentages of open beach days at state beaches
(Figure 4).
For More Information
For information about the Wisconsin beach
program contact:
Donalea Dinsmore
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Tel: 608-266-1926
e-mail: donalea.dinsmore@wisconsin.gov
For general information about beaches visit:
http://water.epa.gov/type/oceb/beaches/.
For information about a specific beach visit:
http://watersgeo.epa.goy/beacon2/.
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