DCEC Applies for Beach Water Quality Project Funding
Last summer we experienced a significant increase in E. coli at many of our Door County beaches. Between 2021 and 2022, there was an 87% increase in the total number of adverse and closed beach events at just three Door County beaches (Otumba, Ephraim, and Fish Creek)! While this could be an anomaly, it could also be something more serious. To further understand this issue, your Door County Environmental Council has applied for funding to the Door County Community Foundation.
The goals of our beach water testing project are two-fold:
Testing and protecting the waters at our area beaches and
Educating the public regarding the value of our water and ongoing threats to our water.
If approved, this grant would enable both an increase in the beach water testing frequency at four currently tested Door County beaches and would add seven additional beaches for testing. The new beaches to be tested are located at: Bittersweet Lane, Sturgeon Bay; County Road TT, Sturgeon Bay; Lakeshore Drive, Jacksonport; Pebble Beach, Sister Bay; Potawatomi State Park, Sturgeon Bay; Sand Bay, Little Sturgeon Bay; and White Pine Lane, Sturgeon Bay. In addition to expanding the number of Door County beaches being tested, we also propose an increase in the frequency of testing at four additional area beaches: Homspier Road, Clay Banks; Haines Park, Little Sturgeon Bay; Lakeside Park, Jacksonport; and Gislason Beach, Washington Island.
Beyond the increased beach water testing, funding for the purchase of two additional beach water quality warning lights for the 9 Ephraim Public Beach and the Nicolet Beach in Peninsula State Park is also part of our grant application.
The two beach water quality warning lights will allow residents and visitors alike to quickly know the water conditions at two more, very popular area beaches. The beach water testing and the warning light system is a collaboration of Door County’s Health Department, the Wisconsin DNR, the Environmental Protection Agency, the UWOshkosh, the Door County Environmental Council Inc., and the respective municipalities that receive the benefit of the water testing and provide space and access for the beach water quality warning lights.
If awarded funding, we also plan four free, open to the public, educational speaker programs explaining the beach water quality testing program and the threats to our Door County waters. Professors Greg Kleinheinz, Val Klump, and Maureen Muldoon, among other recognized experts, will provide education and information on area waters and the threats and opportunities that exist. These speaker programs will educate both tourists and residents about the beach water quality warning lights and the threats, value, and science of insuring high quality beach water now and in the future. The programs will help both tourists and residents understand the threats to our water.
If you could choose just one attribute that makes Door County uniquely attractive, it would be our water, and tourists come to Door County because of its unparalleled natural beauty. The opportunity to monitor, advise, and educate tourists and residents alike about the safety, value, and ongoing water quality at Door County beaches is priceless. Knowing that beach water is clean and safe for swimming is a huge benefit to those who enjoy Door County beaches.
Your Door County Environmental Council is leading the way in helping to protect the waters of Door County and your continued financial support helps us do so!
