Oakwood Beach

Chicago, Illinois
Managed by Swim Drink Fish Canada - Great Lakes Guide

The Oakwood/41st Street Beach is located in Chicago's south end. It is one of Chicago's newest beaches, constructed in the late 1990s in an effort to prevent erosion of the shoreline. Open 11 am to 7 pm, Oakwood offers food stands, restrooms, and a pay-and-display parking lot for beach-goers. Enjoy this sandy beach for castle building, swimming, or distance swimming parallel to the shoreline. Be sure to visit the 41st Street beach house when you are here. The building includes a number of sustainable design features, including a system for harvesting rainwater. The beach has long distance swimming running parallel to the shore, there is a wheel chair accessible path to the beach and public washrooms on site. There is also a pay-and-display parking lot on site.

WATER QUALITY
  • Passed water quality tests at least 95% of the time
  • Historical Status
  • This status is based on the latest sample, taken on September 3rd, 2018. Swim Drink Fish Canada - Great Lakes Guide updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on at
For water quality icon legend, click:   
CURRENT WEATHER
1°C
Cloudy
  • Report Pollution
MONITORING FREQUENCY

Oakwood Beach is sampled daily from May 25th to September 4th

SOURCE INFORMATION

Chicago Park District monitors beaches daily from May 27 to September 5. When sample results are reported on the County's website, Lake Ontario Waterkeeper updates Swim Guide.

Recreational public beaches in Illinois are tested at least once every week, typically from May to September. In popular beach areas such as Chicago, beaches are tested five times per week or even daily.

New to 2017, The Chicago Park District Department of Cultural and Natural Resources (DCNR) will be testing for Enterococci instead of culturing live E. coli bacteria cells. Doing so allows for quicker results: DCNR are able to get water quality results back within 3-4 hours instead of the typical 18-24 hours. DCNR then posts same day results for people to see.

In the USA, the Environmental Protection Agency has two sets of recommendations for freshwater and marine beaches. A single sample at a freshwater beach should not exceed 235 E. coli / 100 ml of water. A single sample at a marine beach should not exceed 104 Enterococci / 100 ml of water. The geometric mean of 5 samples from a freshwater beach should not exceed 126 E. coli / 100 ml of water. The geometric mean of 5 samples from a marine beach should not exceed 35 Enterococci / 100 ml of water. States may choose to use this standard or they may substitute a standard that is "as protective as" the EPA's recommendation. The Beach Act is the nation's primary beach protection law.

WATER QUALITY GRAPH

Oakwood Beach

Chicago, Illinois
Managed by Swim Drink Fish Canada - Great Lakes Guide
WATER QUALITY
  • Passed water quality tests at least 95% of the time
  • Historical Status
  • This status is based on the latest sample, taken on September 3rd, 2018. Swim Drink Fish Canada - Great Lakes Guide updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on at
For water quality icon legend, click:   
CURRENT WEATHER
1°C
Cloudy

The Oakwood/41st Street Beach is located in Chicago's south end. It is one of Chicago's newest beaches, constructed in the late 1990s in an effort to prevent erosion of the shoreline. Open 11 am to 7 pm, Oakwood offers food stands, restrooms, and a pay-and-display parking lot for beach-goers. Enjoy this sandy beach for castle building, swimming, or distance swimming parallel to the shoreline. Be sure to visit the 41st Street beach house when you are here. The building includes a number of sustainable design features, including a system for harvesting rainwater. The beach has long distance swimming running parallel to the shore, there is a wheel chair accessible path to the beach and public washrooms on site. There is also a pay-and-display parking lot on site.

  • Report Pollution
MONITORING FREQUENCY

Oakwood Beach is sampled daily from May 25th to September 4th

SOURCE INFORMATION

Chicago Park District monitors beaches daily from May 27 to September 5. When sample results are reported on the County's website, Lake Ontario Waterkeeper updates Swim Guide.

Recreational public beaches in Illinois are tested at least once every week, typically from May to September. In popular beach areas such as Chicago, beaches are tested five times per week or even daily.

New to 2017, The Chicago Park District Department of Cultural and Natural Resources (DCNR) will be testing for Enterococci instead of culturing live E. coli bacteria cells. Doing so allows for quicker results: DCNR are able to get water quality results back within 3-4 hours instead of the typical 18-24 hours. DCNR then posts same day results for people to see.

In the USA, the Environmental Protection Agency has two sets of recommendations for freshwater and marine beaches. A single sample at a freshwater beach should not exceed 235 E. coli / 100 ml of water. A single sample at a marine beach should not exceed 104 Enterococci / 100 ml of water. The geometric mean of 5 samples from a freshwater beach should not exceed 126 E. coli / 100 ml of water. The geometric mean of 5 samples from a marine beach should not exceed 35 Enterococci / 100 ml of water. States may choose to use this standard or they may substitute a standard that is "as protective as" the EPA's recommendation. The Beach Act is the nation's primary beach protection law.

WATER QUALITY GRAPH



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