Waves crashing on the sand, seagulls flying high above the sandy dunes. Those are sounds of Wisconsin beaches and for those who like to soak up the sun it's perfect, but do you really know what's beneath those waves?
"I just look for clear water, not a lot of garbage, that kind of stuff," said Mandi Monfils of Brussels while soaking up some sun at a beach in Door County.
Experts say that's a good place to start, but at Cardinal Environmental in Sheboygan, where they test Sheboygan County Beaches 3 times a week, they say we're heading into peak beach season.
"The doldrums of summer are periods of time when we seem to have more elevated results," explained Cardinal Environmental president, Scott Hanson.
Higher E. coli readings are due to more algae blooms, more beach usage, higher levels of seagulls, more runoff, it's all feeding the bacteria levels.
"There's more evaporation, so you have E. coli levels in a more concentrated water," explained Hanson.
On July 14 NBC26 tested 5 water samples from Sturgeon Bay, Green Bay, Menasha, Oshkosh and Sheboygan.
At the lab most of those water samples came back yellow which means there's bacteria in the water, something to be expected at a natural beach, but when the lights went out things got interesting. Depending on the water sample more or less of the pockets glowed in the florescent light, which means E. coli is present.
"The beach water is considered safe if the levels are below 235 colony forming units per 100 milliliters (mL)," explained Hanson.
Here's the breakdown of what we tested.
At Portage Park Beach in Sturgeon Bay we found 6 E. coli colonies per 100mL.
At Menominee Park Beach in Oshkosh samples came in next lowest at 8 E. coli colonies per 100mL.
At Waverly Park Beach in Menasha, 64 E. coli colonies per 100mL.
Deland Park Beach in Sheboygan had 79 E. coli colonies per 100mL.
But at the highest level, a level which would post an advisory or yellow caution sign at the beach warning swimmers to stay out of the water, was Bay Beach in Green Bay at 770 E. coli colonies per 100mL.
"Any one sample really is not indicative of the conditions of the beaches overall. You want to get a track record," explained Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources water resource management specialist, Donalea Dinsmore.
According to water testing done specifically at Bay Beach between 2012 and 2014,of 91 E. coli samples taken only 15 percent of them came back at advisory levels and 4 percent at closed.
"Bacteria is probably similar to what we would see in some of the Door County beaches," explained Dinsmore in regards to the levels found at Bay Beach through the course of her monitoring.
Right now Bay Beach's beach isn't used for swimming, but if it were to be at the way it was at the time of this sampling, E. coli levels are too high.
"Depending on their own immune system some people can get very sick from E. coli and some people aren't affected as much, but most people get abdominal cramps, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, slight fever," said Kewaunee County Health Department spokesperson, Cindy Kinnard.
Beach water experts suggest paying attention to water quality signs posted on beaches.
Those signs can be either red, yellow or green depending on the beach conditions, but they're normally posted near pavilions or bathrooms at the beach.
"It is to protect our residents and our patrons of our beach," explains Kinnard.
So what determines a closure? The breakdown is simple.
A beach is open if E. coli levels are 235 colonies per 100mL or less. It's placed on advisory if E. coli levels are between 235 and 1,000 E. coli colonies per 100mL. Beaches are closed if E. coli levels are 1,000 E. coli colonies per 100mL or higher.
"It's not changed until the water quality level is proven to be lower," explained Hanson.
So for beach lovers like Mandi Monfils, most beaches in Northeast Wisconsin are good to go, leaving you free to pick and choose.
"I prefer the lake over the bay or like the Fox River," says Monfils while lounging on the beach.
Water testing experts say no beach is ever E. coli free or bacteria free, but if you watch the posted signs you'll be much safer when heading to the shoreline.
For a link to see where your beach rates click here.
The Health Department says it's important to make sure you wash your hands before eating after playing at a beach and shower when you get home just to play it safe.
