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The poop on beaches
by Bob Kelleher, Minnesota Public Radio
August 19, 2003

Swimmers enjoy Lake Superior on Duluth's 12th St. beach. City officials have returned the beach's Porta-Potty, which was repeatedly vandalized this summer. Without the Porta-Potties, people might seek relief in the dunes. (MPR Photo/Bob Kelleher)

Pollution experts are unsure about the sources of fecal bacteria that's closed several Lake Superior beaches this summer. Geese, seagulls, and municipal sewers are all likely suspects. But some people wonder whether people play a more direct role. They say a shortage of restrooms near some popular Duluth beaches forces visitors to go where ever they can.

Duluth, Minn. — Warren Djerf was enjoying a warm summer afternoon in Duluth. Park Point's sandy beaches are a favorite stop for Djerf, his wife, and four kids from St. Louis Park. And, of great comfort to the young family, a nearby beach house -- with bathrooms -- was open until late that afternoon.

"I started looking around, around 5 o'clock," recalls Djerf. "And I went up to the building and rattled the door, and the bathroom wasn't opened. And I went around to the other side, and nothing was opened. And I started looking around to the surrounding area, around the volleyball court and the parking lot, and wondering where there might be some bathrooms."

Unfortunately, the bathrooms are locked at 5 p.m., while the beaches remain open until 10 p.m.

(They) said, 'Oh, the bathroom? Use the woods; use the lake.' I kind of felt like a straight man in a vaudeville comedy routine. - Warren Djerf, St. Louis Park

So, Djerf asked around. Surely some friendly Duluth resident could direct him to public plumbing.

"Probably two or three people I asked, they kind of smiled and joked, and said, 'Oh, the bathroom? Use the woods; use the lake.' I kind of felt like a straight man in a vaudeville comedy routine," Djerf says.

But it wasn't particularly funny to Djerf, who was trying to potty-train a three-year-old. And it's not a funny issue to residents in upscale homes on the land side of Duluth's Park Point beaches.

Ellen Angell lives near Duluth's 12th St. beach, where hundreds of people can be found swimming Lake Superior on a hot afternoon.

"The lack of toilet facilities is key," Angell says. "There are none at the Lafayette Community Center. There are facilities at the end of Park Point, at the main park. However, they close several hours before people get off the beach."

The city does post the occasional Porta-Potty at beach parking lots. But Angell says the fiberglass toilets are often vandalized and then removed, sometimes never to be replaced. So people have to find somewhere else to go.

"They go in the dunes," Angell says. "That's an issue for us, both aesthetically and, of course, from a safety standpoint. It's a great concern for us."

The Porta-Potties have been a problem, according to Duluth Parks and Recreation Director Carl Seehus. He says public works crews find Porta-Potties to be a popular target.

"They are the ones that on a daily basis are retrieving the Porta-Potties from over the cliffs and trying to pick them out of the ravines, and calling in wreckers to get them back up," says Seehus. "It's a problem."

But, Seehus says, the Porta-Potty at the 12th St. beach is now firmly anchored in concrete, and open for business.

Otherwise, Seehus says there are adequate restroom facilities on Park Point. Washrooms at the end of the point are open during the day, and open later for special events.

As unpleasent as it sounds, the human waste may not play a big role in beach bacteria alerts. St. Louis County tested Lake Superior waters off Park Point for several years, and never uncovered a problem. County Epidemiologist Larry Sundberg says soil is a good medium to break down waste, and what reaches Lake Superior is quickly diluted.

Still, the stuff left by people is exactly what concerns health officials the most.

"We certainly don't like human sewage," Sundberg says. "We really traditionally know that human sewage is a source of disease. The more you have, there will be more disease."

The Park Point Community Club is taking its concerns to city officials, hoping for longer bathroom hours and better maintained Porta-Potties.

Meanwhile, related issues will get a public airing in Duluth Tuesday night. Two environmental groups have called a public forum to talk about several large sewage overflows, and a rash of beach closures this summer because of high bacteria counts.

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