CLEAN LAKES 101 – From E. coli to Why? Dane County’s Beach Monitoring Program

ABOUT THIS TALK Public Health Madison & Dane County monitors water quality at 27 beaches and recreational lake access points to identify potential health risks and help residents make informed decisions about swimming and recreation. This presentation will offer a look at how the beach monitoring program works, how field observations and lab results inform beach closures, and why bacteria levels and algae can change quickly from one day to the next. We’ll also look at a new pilot project this season that looks to the source of where the bacteria that cause closures may be coming from using microbial source tracking at select beaches. Find out what we’ve learned so far from this season at the beach.

ABOUT OUR SPEAKER Jennifer Lavender Braun is the Senior Environmental Health Scientist with Public Health Madison & Dane County. She has worked for Dane County since 2010 where she leads the county’s beach monitoring program. Her work focuses on using laboratory and field data to guide public health decisions, improve beach monitoring, and communicate water quality risks clearly to protect public health. ABOUT OUR MODERATOR Dana Fulton joined the 27 Storm Track Weather Team in September 2023. Fulton was promoted from Wake Up Meteorologist to 27 News Wake Up Wisconsin News Anchor and Executive Producer and now anchors the weekday morning news from 4:30 – 7 a.m. on WKOW-TV 27 Wake Up Wisconsin. Previously Fulton worked at WISC-TV in Madison, WI and WACH in Columbia, SC. During her time at WACH she also worked as a Weekend Manager, News Anchor, Multimedia Journalist, and Meteorologist. Fulton is originally from Bartonville, IL and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Western Illinois University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Atmospheric Science from Mississippi State University.

EVENT DETAILS Join us for this event at The East Side Club (3735 Monona Dr, Madison, WI 53714). Doors open at 3:30 p.m. The program runs from 4 – 5 p.m. A Q/A session will follow the presentation as time allows. Complimentary event parking will be available at The East Side Club. Parking fills up quickly, and spaces may be limited. **Friends of Clean Lakes ($35 and above) receive ONE FREE BEER OR SODA at each Clean Lakes 101 On Tap event, courtesy of Wisconsin Distributors.

CLEAN LAKES 101 LECTURE SERIES Clean Lakes 101 is a series of educational events open to the public and a great chance to learn more about the science behind the issues that affect our lakes. Each month we feature a different expert to make the science accessible and interesting to non-technical audiences. The series is produced in partnership with the UW-Madison Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies and Extension Lakes, with presenting sponsor National Guardian Life Insurance Company, hosting sponsor The East Side Club, supporting sponsor Johnson Financial Group, and media sponsor WKOW. Additional support is provided by Alliant Energy Foundation, Hovde Properties, and Perkins Coie LLP.

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