MUSKEGON, Mich. — Tuesday and Wednesday, Kruse Park Dog Beach in Muskegon was under an E. coli advisory. While it wasn't fully closed, there were potentially dangerous levels of the bacteria found in the water.
Researchers say dog friendly beaches like Kruse Park may be more likely to see high levels of the bacteria.
The state of Michigan sets the dangerous mark at 300 colonies of E. coli per 100ml of water sampled. If the number of colonies surpasses that 300 mark, the beach gets placed under advisory. If it surpasses 1,000, the beach will be closed fully.
For most Muskegon beaches, the monitoring is done by Grand Valley State University's Robert B. Annis Water Resources Institute. Rick Rediske, one of the lead E. coli researchers at the institute says as long as the water doesn't go in your mouth during an advisory, its relatively safe, though taking precautions isn't a bad idea. He said you can still walk along the beach, but going underwater isn't a good idea. If the beach is under a closure, avoid it entirely.
"Everybody is supposed to clean up after their dog, but sometimes that doesn’t happen," Rediske said.
He says waste is most often the culprit in elevated E. coli levels, but where it comes from varies. Often it can be dogs, but it can sometimes be human waste, or waste from birds that come to eat the algae washed up along the shore. When it rains, that waste gets washed back into the lake, and can become dangerous.
"For young children you should not have them playing in the shallow zone," He said. "Dogs are a little bit more resistant to that kind of bacteria, but you should not have them go into the water."
He said it's smart to always look ahead before heading to the water. The state's BeachGuard system is kept up to date with the most recent sampling, and reflects any red flags to avoid like those high levels of E. coli, or any other contamination.
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