The Lake County General Health District will begin monitoring the beach water quality at Mentor Headlands State Park Beach and Lake Metroparks Fairport Harbor Beach daily, according to a news release from the department.
While it's far too cold to go for a dip in Lake Erie this Memorial Day weekend, daily monitoring of area beaches has begun, and you find those results online.
Each morning, one of its staff members will observe and collect data to predict E. coli levels at the beach. The daily report for beaches in Lorain County will be viewable using the Ohio Department of Health Beachguard. Cleveland-area beach water quality monitoring data can be found on the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District website here. Lake County conditions can be found on the Lake County General Health District website here. The U.S. Geographical Services Nowcast includes conditions for all Northeast Ohio beaches along Lake Erie, including in Lake County.
When beaches are under an advisory, it means the single-day standard of 235 E. coli per 100 milliliters of the sample will be exceeded that day. Currently, there are zero advisories at the two beaches in Lake County. Here are the other beach conditions in Northeast Ohio, as of Friday, May 26:
Lorain County:
- Lakewood Beach Park: Bacteria Contamination Advisory
- Century Beach: Bacteria Contamination Advisory
- Lakeview Beach: Bacteria Contamination Advisory
- Community Park Beach: Bacteria Contamination Advisory
Lake County:
- Fairport Beach: Good
- Mentor Headlands: Good
Cuyahoga County:
- Villa Angela Beach: Good
- Edgewater Beach: Good
- Huntington Beach: Good
- Cuyahoga River: Good
Data collected at the beaches will be entered into a software program called Virtual Beach, which uses mathematics to predict E. coli levels. In order to test the accuracy of this program, the Health District will still test the water three times a week for E. coli.
The Health District advises the public to look for posted water quality signage before entering the water, and to avoid swimming for 48 hours after heavy rain.
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