Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.
Bob Putzer, 77, finishes his swim at Warner Park Beach Wednesday, where a new filtration system keeps harmful algae and bacteria out, reducing the need for beach closures.
Swimmers at Madison’s Warner Park Beach will enjoy cleaner water this year thanks to a treatment system designed to turn the often algae-infested beach into a natural swimming pool.
The system, developed jointly by Dane County and the city of Madison and known as a “clean beach corridor,” effectively walls off a section of Lake Mendota for special treatment.
City and county officials say the idea is to provide families with an affordable, safe and reliable place to swim in lakes laden with fertilizers that trigger toxic algae blooms, which force frequent beach closures.
An impermeable plastic curtain extends from the surface to the bottom of the lake, cordoning off the water around the beach. A filtration system on shore uses sand and ultraviolet light to remove harmful bacteria and algae.
A new $700,000 structure at Warner Park Beach houses a water filtration system alongside bathrooms and a picnic shelter.
It’s like a swimming pool without chemicals, said John Reimer, assistant director of the Dane County Land and Water Resources Department, who designed the first such system more than a decade ago while working for the city of Madison.
“The really amazing thing about clean beach corridors is how they can fend off algae even in peak periods of nearby blooms,” said Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway. “Which makes sure families can have a safe place and a free place to go swimming even in the height of summer.”
Under terms of the partnership, the county covered the roughly $90,000 cost to install the system, which the city will pay to operate.
Filtered water is returned to an enclosure in Lake Mendota at Warner Park Beach. City and county officials say the $90,000 system will provide families with affordable, safe and reliable opportunities to swim.
The city also spent about $700,000 on a building to house the pump alongside bathrooms and a picnic shelter. Rooftop solar panels installed by the city’s “Green Power Team” will offset the electricity used to run the pumps.
Plans call for a second enclosure at Tenney Park to open in 2024, while the city and county are reviewing other potential sites.
Bob Putzer praised the effort after swimming at the Warner Park Beach enclosure Wednesday.
“It’s cleaning up so you can see the bottom,” said Putzer, 77. “I swim at the Princeton Club every day, but I’m glad to come here because you’re right next to God and nature.”
Madison and Dane County's public health department monitors water conditions at 18 public beaches between Memorial Day and Labor Day for harmful bacteria and algae.
To check water reports and which beaches are open visit go.madison.com/beach-conditions.
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and Dane County Executive Joe Parisi announce the opening of a water filtration system at Warner Park Beach. The county paid to install the $90,000 system, which the city will operate.
While working to reduce the agricultural runoff that contributes to algae blooms, Reimer said he wanted to find a more immediate solution to increase lake access.
After he experimented with other ways to keep algae out of swimming areas, Reimer and his colleagues from UW-Madison and Public Health Madison and Dane County came up with what he calls an “in-situ swimming pool.”
John Reimer, assistant director for Dane County Land and Water Resources Department, talks about the water filtration system he helped design.
They installed the experimental system at Brittingham Beach in 2011, and it was an instant hit.
“People started coming to it. They saw the water was clear, and they wanted to enjoy it,” Reimer said. “It kind of revitalized that area.”
That system was later moved to Bernie’s Beach, where it remains today. Dane County went on to construct two other filtration systems at Mendota County and Goodland County parks, where they helped reduce the number of beach closures from about 25 days per year to around two.
“The county has had great success with these clean beach corridors,” County Executive Joe Parisi said. “We know the multiple benefits of getting kids and families outside for safe, fun recreation.”
Former State Journal reporter Erin Gretzinger contributed to this report.
Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.
Covers energy and the environment for the Wisconsin State Journal. Rhymes with Lubbock. Contact him at 608-252-6146.
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
The town of Christiana is asking the courts to reverse the Public Service Commission’s approval of the Koshkonong Solar Energy Center, which would produce enough electricity to power about a third of the county’s homes.
The DNR estimates Wisconsin has more than 420 lakes with the cool, dark waters where walleye thrive. By 2089, may be just four.
Text messages released to the Wisconsin State Journal show Prehn sought advice from the former Republican governor in November 2020.
A series of storms in August 2018 dumped more than a foot of rain on parts of Monroe County over the span of just two days, triggering landslides, washing out bridges and culverts, and eating away entire sections of trail.
A Twin Cities couple is dead after a tree fell on them while they were camping in northern Wisconsin.
Wisconsin Democrats on Thursday announced a joint effort with national party leaders they are calling the largest midterm coordinated campaign in state history, with the goal of reelecting Gov. Tony Evers and defeating Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson.
The UW police investigation revealed the chair was taken from the Terrace in 1978 when the thieves were in college and, “The perps turned over the chair and we returned it to our friends at the Union. No citation – just a verbal warning.”
Gov. Tony Evers, who is up for re-election this fall, announced Thursday that he would release another $25 million in addition to $100 million previously announced for this year’s round of broadband access grants.
Public Health expects heavy rain to wash the blooms away by Thursday.
Forecasters are experimenting with a new warning system for Madison and Milwaukee that doesn’t just account for the heat and humidity but predicts the human health outcomes.
Bob Putzer, 77, finishes his swim at Warner Park Beach Wednesday, where a new filtration system keeps harmful algae and bacteria out, reducing the need for beach closures.
A new $700,000 structure at Warner Park Beach houses a water filtration system alongside bathrooms and a picnic shelter.
Filtered water is returned to an enclosure in Lake Mendota at Warner Park Beach. City and county officials say the $90,000 system will provide families with affordable, safe and reliable opportunities to swim.
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and Dane County Executive Joe Parisi announce the opening of a water filtration system at Warner Park Beach. The county paid to install the $90,000 system, which the city will operate.
John Reimer, assistant director for Dane County Land and Water Resources Department, talks about the water filtration system he helped design.
Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.