It’s a regular program of the Berrien County Health Department, and it’s getting started back up for the summer.
The Lake Michigan Beach Monitoring Program has department staff going out each week to collect water samples from the area’s most popular swimming spots to test for E Coli, and on Thursday, the Berrien County Board of Commissioners voted to accept an $18,000 grant from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy to continue the testing this summer.
A member of the health department staff will wade out into several feet of water each week at various locations to collect samples for testing. The department is obligated to issue a no-swim order for a beach when E coli is found at too high of a level.
The tested beaches include Warren Dunes State Park, Silver Beach, Cherry Beach, Jean Klock Park, Tiscornia Beach, and more. In all, 14 are checked weekly.
E Coli closures at Lake Michigan beaches in Berrien County are fairly uncommon, but last year they did have to shut down swimming at Warren Dunes at least once after some rain.
You can check the state’s Beach Guard website to know which beaches are closed at any given time.
