CLEVELAND — As temperatures soar to 90 degrees this week, you may be thinking about going for a swim.
But before you head out to one of the beaches along Lake Erie, here’s what you need to know…
Predicted water quality
- Edgewater Beach: Listed as “good” with the predicted E. coli concentration at 9 MPN/100mL.
- Villa Angela Beach: Listed as “good” with the predicted E. coli concentration at 32 MPN/100mL.
Water temperature
While the quality may be perfect for swimming, the water temperature is not. The National Weather Service reported early Monday the water temperature off Cleveland was in the 50s.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that “water conducts heat away from the body 25 times faster than air” with hypothermia possible in any water temperature below 70 degrees.
RELATED: Despite rising temperatures in Greater Cleveland, think twice before jumping into Lake Erie
Editor's note: Video in the player above was originally published in an unrelated story on May 19, 2022.
Lifeguards
Beaches within the Cleveland Metroparks remain without lifeguards until Saturday, June 4.
Explaining details of water quality
Here’s how the process is explained by the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District: The percent probability that a beach will exceed the set threshold is calculated by the Virtual Beach 3.0 software based on beach conditions measured during sample collection. When the percent probability generated by Virtual Beach 3.0 exceeds 50%, the true E. coli concentration is expected to exceed the Bathing Water Recreational Criteria of 235 MPN/100mL. Increasing percent probability indicates an increased likelihood of a true exceedance of the recreational criteria and vice versa.
- Edgewater Beach threshold: 75 MPN/100mL
- Villa Angela Beach threshold: 100 MPN/100mL
