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Veterans Memorial Beach in St. Clair Shores is among several local shorelines that have been closed because of unhealthy levels of bacteria, which can make people sick.Sewage spills make millions sick each year
Experts warn that swimmers can be at risk for stomach troubles, eye infections, headaches.
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To get ready for grueling races across Lake Ontario, Canadian Pat Kriwoy and his outrigger team practice water-switching -- the time-sensitive moment when a rested paddler treading water quickly lifts himself up into the canoe and swaps places with an exhausted paddler.
It's a part of the sport that Kriwoy and his buddies worry about.
They fear swimming in water tainted by inadequately treated sewage, the likely cause of some paddlers' complaints about cramps, headaches, eye infections and other illnesses. Sewage releases lead to frequent warnings by the Canadian government not to use certain beaches.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that as many as 3.5 million swimmers get sick each year because of sewage spills. About one in 1,000 becomes severely ill.
"I don't want to take the chance of getting sick," said Kriwoy, explaining that his outrigger team avoids water-switching drills along gorgeous Bluffers Park in Toronto because the beach has had sewage warnings posted 91 percent of the days this season.
Beach closings are common along the shorelines of older Great Lakes cities, both on the U.S. and Canadian sides, especially in the wake of heavy rains that lead to releases from overwhelmed sewage systems.
Since Memorial Day, 30 of Michigan's 343 monitored beaches have closed at least once because of elevated levels of E. coli, a bacteria whose presence signals human or animal fecal matter, according to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. Three of the beaches closed most often were in Macomb County: Memorial Park Beach (18 days); Blossom Heath Beach (16 days); and Metro Beach (five days).
Sewer overflows are a major cause of unhealthy E. coli levels. Other causes include boaters dumping sewage, and runoff from leaky septic tanks and farms.
Research shows that humans can become sick from E. coli while swimming, surfing or putting their hands in water during activities such as boating and fishing.
People can also become ill from eating shellfish, such as oysters and mussels, that filter sewage-contaminated water.
Alarm over outbreaks has led to research now under way to pinpoint the toxins getting into Great Lakes water through sewage and to determine whether beach users get sick more often, said Joan Rose, a public health microbiologist at Michigan State University.
Rose, who is studying waterborne pathogens in the beaches of Lakes Erie and Michigan, has found viruses that can cause stomach pain, breathing difficulties, eye infections and body aches.
"We've underestimated the amount of pathogens entering our waters from sewage," she said.
Rose and other microbiologists have called on states to start a registry for swimmers and other water users to report illnesses.
"Before I started doing water research, I used to jump in the water and play," said Rose. "Now I am much more wary."
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The Detroit News.
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