Beach Sanitary Survey and Environmental Health and Safety Survey Initiative
About the Survey
The International Joint Commission's (IJC) Health Professionals Advisory Board and the Great Lakes Beach Association are collaborating on a Public Health Initiative to assess the bi-national extent, experience and effects of Beach Sanitary Surveys (USA)/Environmental Health and Safety Surveys (CANADA) in the Great Lakes. We are seeking to determine to what extent routine and annual environmental survey activities are performed at Great Lakes Beaches.
This second survey in the two-part series is a detailed survey of existing local beach programs in the Great Lakes. We are looking to discover narratives that illuminate how mitigation led to swimming water compliance, and narratives illuminating mitigation leading to other outcomes, be they positive or negative. The project also aims to underscore existing gaps in mitigation for issues already identified by surveys, for the Great Lakes overall, by nation (Canada and USA), within each Great Lake state, and in the Province of Ontario.
If you have any questions, or would prefer to explore these questions over the phone, please contact Jennifer Boehme (IJC) at boehmej@windsor.ijc.org or Gabrielle Parent-Doliner (Great Lakes Beach Association) at gabrielleparent@gmail.com, who are leading this research effort.
Project Work Group Members
IJC
Project Lead Tom Edge (CAN), McMaster University
Project Lead Matt Dellinger (US), University of Wisconsin
Jennifer Boehme (CAN) Science Adviser and Secretariat for Health Professionals Advisory Board at IJC
GLBA
Project Lead Gabrielle Parent-Doliner (CAN), GLBA
Shannon Briggs (US), State of Michigan
Julie Kinzelman (US), City of Racine, WI
Why are Beach Sanitary Surveys and Environmental Health and Safety Surveys so important to beach health?
Identification of likely sources is necessary for efficient and effective mitigation (prevention) of contamination. Toward this end, both US and Canadian authorities have encouraged the performance of annual sanitary surveys in the US and environmental health and safety surveys in Canada (hereafter environmental surveys) to detect and source fecal contamination in order to assess the risk to the health and safety of recreational water users. Further, environmental surveys can help prioritize funding allocations to improve beach water quality. Finally, environmental surveys also contribute to the development of predictive models for recreational waters.
The IJC’s Health Professionals Advisory Board has recommended that the prevalence and findings of such surveys be an indication of the swimmability of Great Lakes waters (HPAB, 2014).
Environmental Surveys: Definition and links
Beach Sanitary Survey (USA): A sanitary survey is a method created by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for investigating the sources of fecal contamination to a water body. Beach Sanitary Surveys are conducted annually. “A sanitary survey is a method of investigating the sources of fecal contamination to a water body. Sanitary surveys are typically used for drinking water, shellfish, and watershed protection programs. They can also be used at beaches. Sanitary surveys help state and local beach program managers and public health officials identify sources of beach water pollution, assess the magnitude of pollution, and identify priority locations for water testing.” US EPA, Technical Resources about beaches, Beach Sanitary Surveys
There are two categories:
Great Lakes Sanitary Survey (freshwater)
Environmental Health and Safety Survey (CANADA): Conducted annually by beach managers, the Environmental Health and Safety Survey is the “blueprint for designing and implementing an effective risk management plan for recreational waters….It is a comprehensive search for, and assessment of, existing and potential water quality hazards (biological, chemical and physical) and their associated risks to the health and safety of the public at designated beach areas. The EHSS also represents a general review of all aspects of a beach's operation. The data collected provide beach operators, service providers and responsible authorities with the information necessary to make sound risk management decisions and to develop and maintain an effective beach monitoring program. The EHSS fits under a multi-barrier approach to recreational water management by identifying priority areas for which interventions can be applied to reduce the level of risk for recreational water users. An EHSS should be conducted on an annual basis, just before the start of the swimming season. ” (Part 1, Section 2.0 of the Guidelines for Canadian Recreational Water Quality (2012).
Environmental Health and Safety Survey, Health Canada
Routine field survey: Also know as routine, on-site sanitary surveys. These surveys are collected every time a beach manager collects recreational water quality samples at a beach.
