Residents and visitors looking to hit a beach along the Door Peninsula now have another tool to check on which beaches are safe for swimming.
SWIM Guide is a new mobile app launched by Milwaukee Riverkeeper. It uses water quality monitoring data from government authorities to determine water quality at hundreds of beaches, including those along the Door Peninsula and on Washington Island.
Green marks indicate where the water quality is acceptable, red marks show where it is unsafe. The Swim Guide is updated as frequently as the data is gathered. It also enables users to get directions, view photos and report pollution.
The app, for example reports that Sturgeon Bay's Otumba Park beach is not currently open for swimming. All other Door County beaches have a "green light" for swimming.
The app also gives a synopsis of each beach, telling visitors for example that "the millions of stones" that make up Schoolhouse Beach on Washington Island "can be difficult to walk on without foot protection," or that Sister Bay Beach is a "great spot for swimming and sunbathing" and close to many amenities.
The SWIM Guide app is available for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Android devices. It also can be accessed online here.
