FRESH News

Spring Test Results

Posted on March 31, 2009

Date              Location                    E. coli*            Enterococci*      

6/5/2009         GH State Park             7                 3                         SAFE        

6/5/2009        GH City Beach             7                  3                         SAFE 

6/5/2009     Grand River at GH        30             745                    NOT SAFE    

6/5/2009     Ferrysburg Pier               4                8                          SAFE

6/5/2009    North Beach Park          22               14                          SAFE

6/4/2009         GH State Park           117             20                         SAFE        

6/4/2009        GH City Beach           101             16                         SAFE 

6/4/2009     Grand River at GH        31               27                         SAFE    

6/4/2009     Ferrysburg Pier             11                3                          SAFE

6/4/2009    North Beach Park          11                6                          SAFE

6/2/2009      Ferrysburg Pier             21                5                          SAFE

6/2/2009        GH City Beach            28                3                          SAFE     

6/1/2009     Ferrysburg Pier              7                 2                          SAFE

6/1/2009     North Beach Park          9                 2                          SAFE

6/1/2009     Grand River at GH        62               16                         SAFE

5/27/09          Ferrysburg Pier           33                7                          SAFE 

5/27/09        North Beach Park        27                10                         SAFE

5/20/09        Ferrysburg Pier            11                  7                         SAFE

5/16/09           GH City Beach            68                5                          SAFE

5/13/09       Grand River at GH         45               38                         SAFE

5/13/09           GH City Beach           18                24                         SAFE

5/13/09        North Beach Park        16                  5                          SAFE

5/11/09         North Beach Park        17                 2                          SAFE

5/11/09          GH City Beach            2                   2                           SAFE

5/11/09       Grand River at GH       19                 11                          SAFE

5/9/09            Grand Haven SP         9                   5                           SAFE

5/6/09            GH City Beach            46                 20                         SAFE

5/6/09           Grand River at GH       20                  2                          SAFE 

5/6/09            North Beach Park       7                     8                         SAFE

5/2/09            GH City Beach            1                     0                         SAFE

4/29/09         Grand River at GH     91                   40                        SAFE

4/29/09         GH City Beach             2                     2                         SAFE

4/27/09         Ferrysburg Pier        104                   75                       SAFE

4/27/09        Grand River at GH    833                 625                  NOT SAFE

4/25/09         Ferrysburg Pier         1                      2                         SAFE

4/24/09         Ferrysburg Pier         1                      1                         SAFE

4/21/09         GH city beach            3                      5                         SAFE

4/20/09         GH city beach            3                      1                         SAFE

4/11/09         GH city beach            2                      0                         SAFE

4/9/09           GH city beach            6                      3                         SAFE

3/29/09         GH city beach            4                      3                         SAFE

3/28/09         GH city beach            2                      1                         SAFE

*Colony Forming Units (CFU) per 100 milliliters.

What do these number mean?

To determine whether we are exposing ourselves to nasty ‘bugs’ (bacteria, viruses, etc.) associated with human waste when we’re surfing and kiteboarding at the Grand Haven and Ferrysburg breaks, we are testing for E. coli, and Enterococci. These particular bacteria are found in the digestive tracts of humans and, in fact, they generally don’t cause us any harm (it’s not the same strain of E. coli that makes us sick). However, when we find them in high numbers at the beach, it’s a pretty good indication that other nasty pathogens are present which could make us sick. We will be collecting water samples on most ‘surfable’ or ‘kiteable’ days from now until the ice sets in. We’ll pick it up again after the ice is gone in the spring. Sampling locations include the Grand Haven State Park and north of the pier on the Ferrysburg side.

The numbers that we will report are ‘Colony Forming Units’ (CFU) per 100 milliliters. You can think of this as the number of viable bacteria cells in a 100 milliliter sample. For E. coli, as long as the number stays below 300 CFU per 100 ml for a single day, there’s little cause for concern. For Enterococci, as long as the numbers stay below 104 CFU per 100 ml it’s safe to surf. Of course, these numbers are merely thresholds that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has established for recreational waters. This does not mean that at 275 E. coli CFU there’s no chance of getting sick or at 325 CFU you will contract every nasty ailment known to man. The number that we will report are geometric means (a type of average) of at least 3 separate samples collected in approximately 3 to 4 foot of water. We are also collecting additional data including water temperature, wave height, longshore current, weather conditions, and the number of people in the water.

This program was funded in part (roughly two-thirds) by a grant from the Norcross Wildlife Foundation and by you, the local surfers (roughly one-third). Pathogen monitoring has been contracted to the Annis Water Resources Institute of Grand Valley State University. For additional information, contact Matt Cooper (616-331-8790, coopmat@gvsu.edu).

5/23/09        Grand Haven SP          9                   8                         SAFE