Is it safe to swim in Little Sturgeon Bay?
A new service by the Little Sturgeon Area Property Owners Association provides the answer: From the middle of June to the end of August the bay is tested for coliform bacteria and E. coli every other Thursday and more often if high bacteria concentrations are encountered. Samples are obtained from the end of the Carmody Park fishing pier and from a pier on the East side of the Squaw Island peninsula. Testing is done by the team that checks the Door County beaches during the summer. Caution is advised if the E.coli count exceeds 235 and unsafe conditions force beach closures if the E.coli count exceeds 1000.
The testing results for all beaches can be found at http://www.wibeaches.us. Tests of Haines Beach are included below. Check for updates on the above website because Haines Beach is tested twice a week.
Latest results (E.coli)
Little Sturgeon West (Carmody) July 28: 16 colonies = safe
Little Sturgeon East Bay: July 28: 30.5 colonies = safe
Haines Beach July 28: less than 235. Beach safe
Note: Sand Bay Beach closed 7/29 due to high E.coli. Check on this website for reopening: http://www.wibeaches.us
