Why do the beaches close?

A beach is closed because monitoring conducted by Washtenaw County Environmental Health determined that, at the time of testing, levels of bacteria exceeded the limits set by the Michigan Public Health Code. The geometric mean of the results from one sampling "event" cannot exceed 300 E. Coli per 100 milliliters water. In addition, the 30-day geometric mean cannot exceed 130 E. Coli per 100 milliliters water.

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1. What is E. coli?
2. What are the risks associated with bacteria in the water?
3. How are the beaches sampled?
4. Why do the beaches close?
5. How long will the beach remain closed?
6. When will the beach re-open?
7. How do the bacteria get in the water?
8. How do I know if it is safe to swim?