Capital News Service
A new Environmental Protection Agency mobile app will help communities track water quality at their beaches.
The agency says the Web-based app will help communities and “citizen scientists” protect swimmers and other recreational users from contaminants and identify sources of pollution.
To download the free app, users must request credentials from the EPA.
In 2007, Michigan received an EPA grant to develop BeachGuard, a website that showcases data from 1,778 beaches where water samples are collected.
Local health departments collect samples from those beaches, run lab tests to look for bacteria, compare the results with water quality standards and then determine if it’s safe for people to swim there.