Caseville County Park, Port Crescent Day Use and Wagener Park were cleared Friday after follow-up water samples came back below the state closure standard.

BAD AXE, Mich. — All Huron County beaches closed this week because of high E. coli readings have reopened after follow-up tests showed acceptable bacteria levels.

The Huron County Health Department announced Friday, July 31, that Wagener Park Bathing Beach had been cleared to reopen. The announcement followed an earlier update reopening Caseville County Park Bathing Beach and Port Crescent Day Use Bathing Beach.
Bird Creek Bathing Beach had already reopened after an earlier retest showed its bacteria level had returned to an acceptable range.

The latest results mean all four beaches affected by this week’s E. coli advisories are now open:

Bird Creek Bathing Beach
Caseville County Park Bathing Beach
Port Crescent Day Use Bathing Beach
Wagener Park Bathing Beach

Retests fall below closure level

The health department’s July 30 retest results showed the following E. coli readings:

Caseville County Park: 24.3 colonies per 100 milliliters
Port Crescent Day Use: 162.4 colonies per 100 milliliters
Wagener Park: 31.1 colonies per 100 milliliters

All three results were below the state closure threshold of 300 E. coli colonies per 100 milliliters of water.

Bird Creek’s earlier retest produced a reading of 84.5 colonies per 100 milliliters, also below the limit.

The health department collects three samples at each beach in water between 3 and 6 feet deep. Those samples are combined to create a composite result. A beach is closed when the composite reading exceeds 300 colonies per 100 milliliters.

Rough water delayed sampling

The beaches were originally scheduled for follow-up testing Wednesday. Rough water and a beach warning prevented health department workers from collecting samples at Caseville County Park, Port Crescent Day Use and Wagener Park.

Workers returned Thursday to collect the samples. Results released Friday cleared Caseville and Port Crescent first, while Wagener remained closed briefly pending its final result. A second notice later Friday confirmed Wagener had also reached an acceptable level and could reopen.
The original tests showed readings of 727 at Caseville County Park, 1,732.9 at Port Crescent Day Use and 344.8 at Wagener Park. Bird Creek’s original reading was 2,419.6.

E. coli levels may rise after rainfall, stormwater runoff, strong waves or waste from wildlife and other animals reaches the water. The bacteria readings can change quickly as water and weather conditions shift.

Swimmers should continue to watch for posted advisories and avoid entering the water when a beach is officially closed.

Questions about Huron County’s beach-testing program may be directed to Health Officer and Environmental Health Director Tip MacGuire at 989-269-3329.

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