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- Past readings: http://drekbeach.org/api/fullSummaries
- Beach water quality: https://data.cityofchicago.org/Parks-Recreation/Beach-Water-Quality-Automated-Sensors/qmqz-2xku
- Beach weather station: https://data.cityofchicago.org/Parks-Recreation/Beach-Weather-Stations-Automated-Sensors/k7hf-8y75
- Park events: https://data.cityofchicago.org/Events/Chicago-Park-District-Event-Permits/pk66-w54g
These are notes taken from Chicago Park District.
- Lab methods look at fecal indicators to determine the potential of E. Coli levels.
- Beach advisories get posted at 235 parts per million (ppm) as recommended by EPA.
- Sampling methods
- Samples are taken at least 5 days a week
- If there is a high sample late in the week, Parks will resample on the weekends (e.g., Friday tests will come back on Saturday, if high, they’ll visit on Saturdays)
- Two samples are taken 50 feet from each other for each beach.
- Samples are taken at least 5 days a week
- Built by US Geological Survey and Michigan State
- They looked at day-of-summer as part of the model
- Sometimes there are localized issues (e.g., Rainbow Beach had a stormwater problem)
- Have only used own-data, haven’t used other data sources
During the summer of 2015, Chicago Park District piloted a new, expensive form of testing for E. Coli bacteria by trying to detect DNA fragments in the water. This new test has a turn-around time that returns results within the day. It was piloted at 5 of Chicago's beaches. However, this method is very expensive. Likewise, the DNA and Lab Culture test did not always agree.
The lab data currently contains DNA testing data and those lab results should be removed from the analysis since they are expressed in different units. This method has a threshold of over 1,000 ppm before an advisory is issues.
