5.3. SR 06-06-2011City of
Elk -~-~
River
REQUEST FOR ACTION
TO ITEM NUMBER
Mayor & Ciry Council 5.3.
AGENDA SECTION MEETING DATE PREPARED BY
Administration June 6, 2011 Rebecca Haug, Environmental
Administrator
ITEM DESCRIPTION REVIEWED BY
Beach Posting Policy Ga Leirmoe, Vi1WTP
REVIEWED BY
ACTION REQUESTED
Update the Beach Posting Policy to reflect the following: the average of five swimming beach samples in
a 30-day period should not exceed a count of more than 200 fecal coliform bacteria cells per 100 mL of
water.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
The Lake Orono Improvement Association (LOIA) attended the March 14, 2011 City Council meeting.
During the meeting, Paul Sheets, President of the LOIA, stated that the Minnesota Department of Health
(MDH) has a less restrictive beach posting policy than the Ciry. The Council directed staff to look into
the MDH policy for beach posting.
Staff has been researching other community beach posting requirements. Hennepin County Public
Health samples and analyzes the water at 31 public swimming beaches to ensure they are safe to swim in.
Their sampling meets the EPA safe beach water standards. The measured E. coli bacteria counts must be
below 235 CFU/100 mL in a single sample or the geometric mean of 126 CFU/100 ml from multiple
samples. If the E. coli bacteria levels exceed these guidelines, Hennepin County Public Health
recommends beach closure until resample results show a level within an acceptable range.
In order to maintain healthy swimming beaches, the State of Minnesota established the following
recommendations:
The average of five swimming beach samples in a 30-day period should not exceed a count
of more than 200 fecal coliform bacteria cells per 100 mL of water.
No one sample should have a fecal coliform count greater than 1,000 bacteria colonies per
100 mL of water. If a sample exceeds 1,000 bacteria colonies per
100 mL, consideration should be given to closing the swimming beach.
Staff discussed the different sampling practices with the Lake Orono Water Quality Committee at their
May 11, 2011 meeting. The Committee is in favor of the Beach Posting policy being the average of five
swimming beach samples in a 30-day period not exceeding a count of more than 200 fecal coliform
bacteria cells per 100 mL of water.
N:\Public Bodies\City Council\Council RCA\Agenda Packet\O6-O1-2011\Beach Posting.docx
ATTACHMENTS
None
Action Motion by Second by Vote
Follow Up
N:\PubGc Bodies\Ciry Council\Council RCA\Agenda Packet\06-O1-2011\Beach Posting.docx