On Memorial Day weekend, Chicago's beaches were packed as people celebrated what has come to be known as the unofficial start of summer. And with temperatures approaching 90 degrees, it felt more like the 4th of July than a typical Memorial Day. Sunbathers, sandcastles and smoking hibachis up and down the shores of Lake Michigan brought the familiar sights of the summer season to mind.
This summer, however, a new sight will grace the shores of Chicago's beachfront: multi-colored flags.
The flags are not part of a new advertising gimmick or another way to cheer on a favored sports team. Last week the Chicago Park District announced a new public service for monitoring the changing level of E. coli in the lake. The flags let potential swimmers know exactly what they are getting themselves into.
The three-color code includes green flags (signaling ideal swimming conditions), yellow flags (denoting a rise in the level of E. coli where swimmers can decide for themselves if they should take a dip), and red flags (a swimming ban.)
This year the Chicago Park District is following the levels of E. coli safety according to the Environmental Protection Agency's guidelines. As the EPA observes less strict standards (1,000 parts of E. coli per 100 milliliters to signal a swim ban compared with a level of 235 per 100 as observed by the Park District in the past) there is a good chance that there will be fewer bans this year. This may sound like more freedom to some, but consider that Chicago is the first municipality in Illinois to allow swimming in Lake Michigan at such a high E. coli level. The rest of the area will keep a more conservative 235 ban level.
Studies show that at the yellow level 8 out of 1000 people get sick, while at the red level 14 out of 1000 will. At the level yellow there is still a risk, but the Park District is leaving the odds up to the swimmers themselves.
"If I were to see a yellow flag, I'd probably go in," said Theresa on her way to the beach on Monday. "I trust my body's natural defenses, and I take a bath after going in the lake."
Although Theresa is willing to take the plunge at higher levels, she does admit to some bad beach experiences. "I've had friends that have had severe reactions just from being in the water," Theresa explained, describing a terrible ear infection that one friend got after a day of swimming in Lake Michigan. "You could smell stuff coming out of his ears," she said, "We were pretty convinced that it was from the lake." While her friend's infection probably wasn't E. coli, which, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health, is characterized by severe, often bloody diarrhea and painful abdominal cramps, the incident points to other bacteria that can lurk in the lake.
Since that experience, Theresa avoids putting her head under water whenever she swims in the lake, no matter what conditions are purported to be. "I don't go under anymore because of the threat from E. coli," she laments. "I like going under and I miss it."
But when it comes to E. coli, water might not be the only concern for the summer beachgoer. In 2003, researchers Richard L. Whitman and Meredith B. Nevers from "Applied and Environmental Microbiology" wrote "Foreshore Sand as a Source of Escherichia coli in Nearshore Water of a Lake Michigan Beach" which suggests that the higher concentrations of the bacteria were found not in the water but in the sand.
"Bacterial counts in water eventually fall to levels considered to be safe for swimming; however, many indicators remain in the sediment and adjacent beach sand and can impact beach water quality at a later time," write Whitman and Nevers.
While leaking septic systems and possible sewage overflows can contribute to E. coli contamination, seagull droppings are also to blame. This year the Chicago Park District has plans to counteract the leavings of this familiar water bird.
In adding more trash cans to popular lakefront areas— 4000 for refuse and recycling— the Park District hopes to minimize the amount of garbage that ends up strewn across the beach and attract waterfowl to the shore.
Another bird shooing tactic the Park District will employ is known as harassment. Border collies will be enlisted to frighten off seagulls and discourage nesting at the 63rd and Montrose Street beaches, which have had the most notorious history with E. coli.
In the end, the responsibility to keep the beach clean falls on the shoulders of beach goers. The Chicago Park District is also posting new signs reminding guests to pick up litter and refrain from feeding the birds.
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