5.5. SR 06-13-2011 - Laserfiche WebLink

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.''~ •~i Elk REQUEST FOR ACTION ~..iv~r To Item Number Ma or & Ci Council 5.5. Agenda Section Meeting Date Prepared by Worksession June 13, 2011 Rebecca Haug, Environmental Administrator Item Description Reviewed by Beach Posting Policy Ga Leirmoe, WWTP Reviewed by Tim Simon, Finance Director Action Requested Approve the updated 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 colonies per 100 mL of water and that no one sample should exceed 1,000 fecal coliform bacteria colonies 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 less restrictive beach posting policy than the City. The Council directed staff to look into the MDH policy for beach posting. Staff has been researching other communities' beach posting requirements. Hennepin County Public Health samples and analyzes the water at 31 public swimming beaches to ensure that 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\Ciry Council\Council RCA\Agenda Packet\OG-13-2011\Beach posting.docx