Properly maintained pools help prevent the spread of disease, but people should take precautions when taking their child swimming if the child has diarrhea (click here to learn more).
Are you (or your pet) going to be swimming in an inland lake or pond? Watch out for scummy looking surfaces, and always be sure to wash off after swimming. Click here for information from DNR about blue-green algae or click here for information from the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services.
The City of Milwaukee Health Department Summer Beach Monitoring and Notification Season begins on Memorial Day, May 26, 2008. Please visit the Wisconsin Beachhealth Website at www.wibeaches.us for information about Beach Water Quality in Milwaukee and elsewhere along Lake Michigan or Superior in Wisconsin.
MHD monitors water quality at Bradford, McKinley and South Shore Beaches, as well as the Watercraft Beach, north of McKinley Beach, and South Shore Rocky Area, south of South Shore Beach.
The MHD works in partnership with the research community, the State BEACH Act Work Group, other local agencies, Milwaukee County Parks, www.county.milwaukee.gov/display/router.asp?docid=9137 and various community-based organizations to address challenges to beach water quality, and find ways to better inform the public.
Learn more about ways you can help to keep our waterways and lakes clean by exploring the web sites below.
Discovery World Pier Wisconsin www.discoveryworld.org
EPA Beaches www.epa.gov/OST/beaches
Riverside Urban Environmental Center www.urbanecologycenter.org
Great Lakes Information Network www.great-lakes.net/lakes/
Great Lakes Beach Association www.great-lakes.net/glba/
A properly maintained hot tub (spa) can help protect you and your family and friends from illnesses like Legionellosis www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/legionellosis_g.htm; skin, eye and ear infections caused by organisms like Pseudomonas www.cdc.gov/healthyswimming/derm.htm ; and irritations associated with "unbalanced" pool chemistry (incorrect pH, too much or too little chlorine, etc.) www.cdc.gov/healthyswimming/poolstaff.htm
Latest Beach Water Quality Information www.wibeaches.us
Healthy Swimming (CDC) www.cdc.gov/healthyswimming/6_pleas.htm
How to Keep Your Backyard Pool or Spa Safe (CPSC) www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PREREL/prhtml76/76029.html
What to Do After a Fecal Accident www.cdc.gov/healthyswimming/fecalacc.htm
Guidance for Swimming Pool and Spa Operators (CDC) www.cdc.gov/healthyswimming/poolstaff.htm
More Help: National Spa and Pool Institute www.nspf.org
Pool Safety: American Red Cross www.redcross.org/services/hss/aquatics/
City of Milwaukee Health Department (Questions about health issues related to recreational water) (414) 286-5744
Milwaukee Department of Neighborhodd Services (Complaints and Licensing Inquiries) (414) 286-8674
Milwaukee County Aquatics Hotline (414) 645-4806