Monitoring your own beach
Couldn’t find your beach in Michigan’s BeachGuard Monitoring website? You can do it yourself. Here’s how:
Get started with a simple “how-to” by clicking the How to Develop a Beach Monitoring Program here.
 
Learn how to take water samples based on state standards here.
 
Take your water sample to your local health department, cited on this Michigan Association for Local Public Health list.
 
Click this link to learn more about beach monitoring and water sample techniques from the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism at Michigan State University.
 
Click this link to access an example of an Environmental Protection Agency routine beach sanitary survey form.
 
Nonprofit beach monitoring programs can provide additional information. Here are examples of a few:
Alliance for the Great Lakes’ Adopt-a-Beach program.
http://www.greatlakes.org/Page.aspx?pid=525
Michigan Inland Lakes Partnership’s Cooperative Lakes Monitoring Program.
http://www.michiganlakes.msue.msu.edu/TakeAction/VolunteerMonitoring.aspx