The Health Department of Northwest Michigan (HDNW) is issuing a full body beach advisory for Little Traverse Township Beach in Emmet County. The advisory is posted at the beach.

The water sample taken Tuesday showed an E. coli level of 1,413.6 per 100 milliliters (ml) which requires no water contact based on Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) water quality standards. The beach is located at US-31 and West Conway Road in Little Traverse Township.

E. coli levels testing over 1,000 per 100 ml qualify for full body contact advisory, based on EGLE standards. With full body contact, visitors are recommended to use other beaches in the area. The beach retesting results will be released tomorrow.

Water sampling is done by HDNW throughout the summer months to monitor E. coli levels at many public beaches. The levels change frequently, impacted by the presence of fowl, waves, and more. When a sample comes back that creates an advisory of any type, the water at that beach is sampled again and the results shared to keep the public updated.

HDNW posts beach monitoring reports weekly on its website at https://nwhealth.org/beach-monitoring-program/. Through an EGLE supported web-based program, the public has real-time access to beach water quality results for beaches all over Michigan. Information can be found at www.deq.state.mi.us/beach/.