The Beach
Been to the beach lately? It’s been a pretty good summer for it. But it sure seems like we’ve had a lot of beach closings due to bad water quality, doesn’t it?
Not really, says city Director of Municipal Utilities Mark O’Neill. “We do have to close the beaches from time to time, but I don’t think we’re seeing anything unusual.”
Fortunately when the beach is closed, you can still go to the beach. “Any beach that is closed to swimming is still open for other recreational activities,” says O’Neill. And really, how much time are you actually spending in the water?
There are also other beach issues like litter and misbehavior and access… but closings due to funky water are particularly bothersome. Aren’t we known for our pristine water?
The primary culprit is E. coli, a bacteria that lives in your intestines and can cause diarrhea/bloody diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pains and cramps. All righty then.
The city tests regularly and follows quality standards to determine whether or not to put up the red flag. “Usually when we do find some high numbers it’s after a rain event and the wind is holding that water near shore,” says O’Neill.
And what can residents do?
“Picking up after your pets would help. They are an obvious source of E. coli. Just remember that anything left on or near a street or parking lot, if small enough to enter the storm sewer, will end up in Lake Superior or on the beach.”
Bad weather is also responsible for beach closures. The fire department makes that call and recent history tells us to take those closures very seriously.
Whether you ever, or never, go to the beach, pollution of our near-shore waters should concern all of us.
Honorable Update
The Honorable Distillery, destined for the former Book World and Nordic Theater location and written about here a couple months ago, is still on track for a spring opening. Owners Anne White and Scott Anderson were in town recently and we got a look at what they’re working with.
If any of you recall the old Nordic Theater, you’ll see remnants of it in the cool curved ceiling which had been obscured by the book store’s drop ceiling.
The big room will accommodate the production area in back and a tasting room up front. And down the road they may add a mezzanine that will overlook the distillery operation.
There’s plenty of work yet to do, and current construction costs haven’t helped, but White and Anderson are a pretty determined pair. See you in the spring.
Unsolicited Observations
Nobody asked, but…
• It’s great to see local folks working together. Vango’s and Stucko’s are alternating days when they’re closed to accommodate both a shortage of employees and the high demand on restaurant services. Well done.
• Another example of cooperation… The Ore Dock and the Marquette Area Blues Society are partnering to bring a big-time blues duo to Marquette for a free show this Sunday at 2. The band is called Mulebone and they boast a pretty impressive resume.
• Have you had a chance to work the new parking meters downtown? Someone can probably tell us how efficient they are and all that, and someday soon they’ll likely be the universal standard, but it seemed like a lot of curbs to jump over just to put in a quarter.
• A shout-out to all the businesses that go the extra mile and make sure their buildings and property look their best. The Liberty Way complex on West Washington comes to mind. In a very visible location, the property is landscaped beautifully and really dresses up an important stretch of our main drag.
• According to Scientific American, more than 93% of the land in seven Western states is in drought conditions, and nearly 59% of the area is experiencing extreme or exceptional drought. So why should we care about that? We’ve got plenty of fresh water here, right? Here’s why… they’re already coming north for our more moderate temperatures. How long will it be before they come for our water?
• It was a great Music on Third last Thursday evening. Perfect weather, a full slate of music, and more people than we’ve ever seen for such an event resulted in a successful season opener. It was unfortunate that not every business that could be open was. While acknowledging staff shortages, we would hope that a business would do everything it could to take advantage of such a crowd. It’d be a shame not to.