E. Coli Counts at Acceptable Levels

(Photos right show crews hard at work and part of the west end cleaned up on September 24.)

Town officials decided to open the Ogden Dunes' beach today for swimming since E. coli counts have returned to acceptable levels.

For samples drawn by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) on September 24 at the east end and Accessway #5, E. coli readings were respectively 118 colonies and 173 colonies per 100 ml. of water. The Environmental Protection Agency limit is 235 colonies per 100 ml. of water, which is when a beach closing should be posted. Swimmers should still utilize caution as debris and wood still lurks in the water.

Several residents have asked about E. coli levels in the sand. Samples taken by the USGS over a period of days have indicated that E. coli readings have been consistently low with readings being between the low-teens and the low-twenties per one gram of sand.

Clean up and burn efforts on the beach were stalled today due to a northeast wind, which would have unacceptably pushed all of the smoke from the fires into town. Residential beach fires are still prohibited for the time being. Contact Jim Matthis if you are interested in assisting in this effort once it resumes.

As reported in the Post Tribune today, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore officials, the Coast Guard and the Army Corp. of Engineers toured the Portage Lakefront Site yesterday. The United States Coast Guard will begin removing boats in that area very soon, especially those that are posing a hazard to navigation. Other plans are still pending.

Additional attention has been paid to the west end of the beach in preparation for the re-scheduled Family Night on the Beach to be held on October 4, 2008. Come celebrate our beach-cleaning success by joining the activities starting at 4:00 p.m., which includes the unique, once-a-year opportunity to camp overnight on the beach.

Festivities will include music by the Scoville Brothers, star-viewing with a telescope, food, a hula hoop contest, and more. Bring blankets to keep warm by a bonfire, as well as a dish to share. Contact Randi Light at 764-2259 to make your reservation. If it is raining, the event will be held overnight in the Fire Station with the band and most of the festivities.

Beach Status Update

Beach clean up efforts continued today with the focus on consolidating wood piles and burning natural wood debris. Jim Matthis, Street Department Superintendent, is coordinating efforts starting on the west end of the beach and working eastwards, using additional part-time assistance. It is hoped that larger, hotter fires will allow for a cleaner, more complete burn of the wood.

The Town Council considered options other than burning the wood. One of the only other options would be to haul away the debris, which would impact the environment as well. Think of the hundreds and hundreds of dump-truck loads that would be needed to haul it all away, plus the fuel spent and air pollution emitted. A special Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) permit had to be obtained before the burning could commence.

To keep the burning efforts under control, the Town Council has placed a temporary ban on beach fires until further notice.

None of these efforts could be taking place right now without the assistance of more than 125 volunteers who showed up on Saturday, September 20 to clean up garbage and begin stacking wood. Some areas of the beach still need a great deal of work, but it is looking far better than it did last Friday. Residents should be proud of their efforts, which were lauded last Saturday evening as the lead story on WBBM Newsradio 78.

Unfortunately, what can't be seen can also harm you. Based on samples taken Monday, September 22, E. coli readings are still far above recommended levels for swimming. According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), E. coli counts on the far east end are 866 colonies per 100 milliters of water; and around Accessway #5 it is 613 colonies per 100 milliters of water. The Environmental Protection Agency's recommended limit for swimming is 235 colonies per 100 milliters of water. It is recommended that you not use the beach for swimming or wading until further notice.

USGS staff members are also analyzing the sand for E. coli counts and will inform the Town on those numbers as well.

You should also be aware that several used syringes were found during the beach clean up. Use caution when walking on the beach.

Town officials are also coordinating efforts with the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, and will let you know of plans pertaining to the Portage Lakefront Site and West Beach as soon as information is available.

Plans Ready for Beach Clean Up

Residents are buzzing about the beach clean up scheduled for Saturday, September 20; especially after four dumpsters were dropped of at various locations on Shore Dr. on Thursday. The dumpsters will be used in the effort to dispose of garbage and non-wood debris on the beach.

Participants will check in at Tamarack Beach at 9:30 a.m. where they will be able to sign up for a particular area to clean. The beach will be divided into seven different areas grouped by accessways. "This is the most efficient way to make sure the whole beach is covered by volunteers," said Susan MiHalo, clean up coordinator for that day. Extra emphasis, however, will be placed on the east end and west ends of the beach, where Jim Matthys from the Street Department will have front loaders.

The front loaders will assist volunteers in those areas in getting garbage bags and debris off the beach into the dumpsters. Once those areas are cleaned of garbage, Jim can then start managing the wood debris, which will take several weeks of work. Details are still being finalized on the management of that kind of debris.

Participants will also receive strict instructions to work in a safe manner. Gloves should be worn at all times, and it is highly recommended that you wear shoes instead of sandals. This is due to the high E. coli concentrations expected on the beach from the raw sewage that came down Burns Ditch; and because some of the debris may have nails or sharp edges. Sunscreen should also be worn. If you are scrapped or cut, it is highly recommended that you have a tetanus shot.

Garbage bags and extra gloves are being provided courtesy of the Alliance for the Great Lakes and the Portage Home Center on U.S. 20., which is also supplying a first-aid kit, hand sanitizer and bottled water. Falk PLI Engineering is also providing bottled water, and granola bars will be available.

Recycling will be optional to participants. The Alliance for the Great Lakes has provided blue garbage bags to hold plastic bottles, pop and beer cans and glass bottles. However, those bags must be poured into yellow recycling bins at the accessways and should not be placed in the dumpsters if you want the items to be recycled.

For the areas that don't have a front loader, the participants will need to determine who in their assigned group will help run filled gargage bags and debris up to the street and into the dumpsters. Several wagons and wheelbarrels will be available to assist in that effort.

Participants are asked to help keep children out of the water, which has a lot of contaminants, including E. coli, in it right now. E. coli readings from Wednesday, September 17 were twice the recommended limit for safe swimming. When E. coli is present, it is highly likely that other pathogens may be present as well.

Three volunteers in each area will also be asked to participate in the Alliance for the Great Lakes' garbage tracking project. They will spend some time picking up and tallying types of garbage they find. This information is highly useful to the Alliance, as well as the International Ocean Conservancy, as it advocates for clean water and clean beaches.

Please Be Advised: Swimming Dangerous Right Now

Town residents and visitors are advised to refrain from swimming or wading in Lake Michigan until further notice. Chesterton, Valparaiso, and other municipalities, had to bypass their sewage treatment plants this past weekend, which means that there is untreated sewage in the lake that could cause you to become sick. In addition, there is a lot of dangerous debris out there that could cause injuries. A sample drawn at the beach by the U.S. Geological Survey on Wednesday, September 17 had 548 colonies of E. coli per 100 milliters of water, nearly twice the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) limit for recommended beach closures.

Furthermore, residents should be advised that walking on the beach barefoot or even with sandals might be hazardous. There is the potential for medical waste to be on the beach, and a lot of the debris has nails sticking out of it. Anything that is handled right now out there should be handled with gloves.

Lingering E. coli in the sand and in the wood debris can also be a problem. Recent research has revealed that beach sand contains high concentrations of E. coli and other fecal indicator bacteria, often greatly exceeding the concentration in beach water, according to Richard Whitman, Research Ecologist/Station ChiefLake Michigan Ecological Research Station, U.S. Geological Survey, Porter, IN.

"There is evidence that beach closings due to elevated fecal indicator bacteria may be linked to these sand populations," said Whitman in a recent press release on the topic. Whitman was one of the first to describe these high concentrations of E. coli in sands and to link them to high bacteria counts in water.

Beach Looks like a Disaster Zone

(Photos above: Burns Ditch watershed and photos taken on O.D. beach 9/15/08)

Legions of people will be needed on Saturday, September 20 to help clean Ogden Dunes' beach after 10 inches of rain brought garbage, wrecked motor boats, docks, bottles of motor oil, propane tanks, and much, much more down Burns Ditch this weekend. As you can see from the photos above, there is also a great degree of organic matter that washed down from the Ditch. (Click on the photos to enlarge them for better viewing.)

A worldwide beach clean up was already planned for 9:30 a.m. and the deluge of additional garbage will make it even more necessary. Volunteers should meet at Tamarack Beach. Gloves and trash bags have been provided by the Alliance for the Great Lakes, but you may want to bring your own gloves just in case we run out.

Parents are urged to keep their children from walking on the beach without shoes while the beach is in this state.

Considering the unique rain event the area experienced, none of this should be surprising. What you may not know is the reason why this happens.

First of all, Burns Ditch drains a watershed that is more than 331 square miles (see watershed map at the top). Burns Ditch is like a funnel that takes all of the stormwater from all of the area rivers and streams such as Coffee Creek, Salt Creek, the east branch of the Little Calumet River; as well as the west branch of the Little Calumet River all the way to Griffith, and all of its tributaries, such as Deep River. This is combined with the fact that the Town received notification this weekend that both Valparaiso and Chesterton had to bypass their sewage treatment plants, also known as Combined Sewer Overflows (CSO's) and Sanitary System Overflows (SSO's) because they were overwhelmed with stormwater.

More information on CSO's and SSO's may be found on the following previous blog article posted after the Town experienced a similar beach garbage event on January 7, 2008: http://odeab.blogspot.com/2008/01/town-and-water-company-ask-for-cso.html

Show your love for our beach and Lake Michigan this Saturday. Set aside a few hours of time to help out and join us at 9:30 a.m. If you can confirm your participation, please send Susan MiHalo an email right away at spsmodin@verizon.net so she can make sure she has enough supplies.

Lyme Grass May Assist in Beach Erosion

Residents need to be aware of an invasive species that is capable of causing erosion of foredunes on the beach. John Ervin, Regional Ecologist, Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), recently discovered an invasion of Lyme Grass (Leymus arenarius (L.) Hochst.(= Elymus arenarius L.) on Ogden Dunes' beach.

According to Gerould Wilhelm, Conservation Design Forum, Elmhurst, IL, this plant's clumping nature promotes greater erosion, and it will eventually surplant Marram Grass, which is native to the Indiana Dunes. The Marram grass' root structure supports the establishment of foredunes, which are just important to protecting homes on Shore Drive.

While this ornamental grass is not noted federally as an invasive species, the State of Wisconsin is very concerned about an invasion in that state, where it appears to be spreading quickly and outcompeting native flora. Following is a link to Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources information about this grass:http://www.uwgb.edu/biodiversity/herbarium/invasive_species/leyare01.htm

According to John Ervin, this grass can be distinguished from Marram Grass by its height, which is around 4 feet. If the Town of Ogden Dunes is able to sign an Memo of Understanding with IDNR, he may be able to control the invasion by applying a herbicide treatment to it this fall. (Thanks to Noel Pavlovic from the Indiana Dunes National Lakshore for the photo at the top of this page. He also found Lyme Grass back in 2004 in Miller.)

It is also important that all residents refrain from planting this type of ornamental grass in their yards. In the place of non-native grasses, many of which may be invasive to the Indiana Dunes, consider instead planting native grasses such as Prairie Dropseed (http://plants.usda.gov/java/largeImage?imageID=sphe_004_avp.jpg), Big Blue Stem (http://plants.usda.gov/java/nameSearch), Little Blue Stem http://plants.usda.gov/java/largeImage?imageID=scsc_003_ahp.tif and Indian Grass (http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=SONU2&photoID=sonu2_014_ahp.tif).

Long Lake Marsh Restoration Project Moves Forward

Control of Cattails and Phragmites on Long Lake Marsh moved forward several weeks ago with the application of an aquatic plant herbicide by Aquatic Weed Technologies and the Save the Dunes Conservation Fund. The herbicide adheres to the leaves and is absorbed into the roots of the plants, which is from where these kinds of plants grow and spread.

If left unchecked, the Cattails and Phragmites would turn the entire marsh into what is called a “monoculture,” where there is little biodiversity that is necessary to support a healthy ecosystem. A healthy, balanced ecosystem includes all plant and animal species, including frogs, fish and macroinvertebrates such as dragonfly larvae.

The next phase of the project will include the development and implementation of a planting plan for the banks and the area around the wetland that is currently grassy. Native Connections, a restoration and native seed company out of Three Rivers, MI, has been selected to develop and implement the planting plan.

The objective of the planting plan is to plant more than 100 native plants and shrubs, and more than 27 million native seeds. We will be seeking volunteers next spring to assist with that effort. The goal is to use the native plants to help filter stormwater as it runs off Diana Road and Diana Court, helping to reduce pollution in the marsh. This is called a "stormwater best management practice." Water quality tests were run several weeks ago to establish benchmarks for improvement.

The project is part of a $31,700 federal grant being implemented by the Town of Ogden Dunes. The project start date was August 28, 2007, and it is expected to be completed in 2009.

One-half of this project’s funding is from the Coastal Zone Management Act by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Lake Michigan Coastal Program ($15,700). The other ½ is being funded by the Ogden Dunes Community Fund ($3,500), the Indiana American Water Co. Environmental Grant Program ($6,699.11); and through “in-kind” match. In kind match will be mainly garnered through equipment value and time provided by the Ogden Dunes Volunteer Fire Department (ODVFD) during a prescribed burn. Volunteer time spent on the project also can be counted as match.

Project Partners include the ODVFD, the Save the Dunes Conservation Fund, the Ogden Dunes Community Fund and the Indiana American Water Co.