Sanitary and Environmental Surveys Protect Human Health and Water Quality at Great Lakes Beaches

This white paper presents the results of a collaboration between the International Joint Commission’s Health Professionals Advisory Board (HPAB) and the Great Lakes Beach Association (GLBA) to assess the binational extent, experience and effects of Great Lakes Beach Sanitary Surveys (BSS) in the United States and equivalent Environmental Health and Safety Surveys (EHSS) in Canada. [...] In the first phase, the HPAB reached out to the GLBA and public health units around the Great Lakes to initiate a study on the prevalence of beach sanitary surveys around the basin. [...] The survey should be led by the authority with the best day-to-day knowledge of the beach and done with broad collaboration and communication with other sectors, government agencies, and stakeholders. [...] The HPAB has recommended the prevalence of these surveys as an indicator of the knowledge of pollution sources, adherence to best practices, and the “swimmability” of Great Lakes beaches (HPAB 2014). [...] 4.1 Recommendations, conclusions and priorities This work demonstrates the importance of BSS/EHSS in supporting beach restoration and public health alerts, as well as to inform the protection of overall human health in the Great Lakes.