Coastal Health

Council of Great Lakes Governor’s Priority:
“Promote programs to protect human health against adverse effects of pollution in the Great Lakes ecosystem.”

The Great Lakes are a source of drinking water to approximately 1.5 million Wisconsin residents. Additionally these waters are used extensively for swimming and fishing. Protecting the water quality of the Great Lakes is paramount to protecting the health of Wisconsin citizens that drink Great Lakes water, eat Great Lakes fish, and swim from Great Lakes beaches.

While the Great Lakes communities work hard to protect the Great Lakes water quality, the Cryptosporidium outbreak in Milwaukee’s water supply in 1993 is a reminder of the vulnerability of our drinking water supplies. Fishing opportunities are tremendous on the Great Lakes with opportunities to catch salmon, trout, perch, smelt and other species. However due to PCB and mercury contamination, fish advisories for the Great Lakes recommend limiting fish consumption. Swimming at Wisconsin’s many beautiful Lake Michigan and Lake Superior beaches is a highlight of the summer. Yet increasingly some beaches are faced with closure due to concerns over bacteria and pathogen contamination. Urban stormwater runoff, agriculture runoff, combined sewer overflows, sanitary sewer overflows, malfunctioning septic systems, and wildlife feces are all potential sources for beach contamination. In recent years Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan beaches have also been subjected to large quantities of nuisance algae washing on shore. While this unsightly and stinky decomposing algae does not pose a direct health risk it can provide a suitable environment to harbor human pathogens. Addressing issues such as drinking water protection, beach contamination, and fish consumption advisories are the focal point of the Council of Great Lakes Governor’s priority on protecting coastal health.

For more information about coastal health related issues see the following links.

• DRAFT Wisconsin Great Lakes Strategy
• Great Lakes Regional Collaboration - Coastal Health Strategy Team
• Department of Health and Family Services
• Wisconsin Beach Program
• Wisconsin Fish Consumption Advisories
• Blue-Green Algae (pdf)
• Nuisance Algae (Cladophora) on Lake Michigan