12th Street Beach

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

The 12th Street Beach is located just south of the heart of Chicago on the Northerly Island Peninsula, on the shore of Lake Michigan. The beach is host to great fishing and swimming and there is the opportunity to do distance swimming at the 12th Street Beach. There is a pay-to-park lot located at the beach. The beach has public washrooms and there is a wheelchair accessible walk at the beach.

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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 2nd, 2019. 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
12°C
Cloudy with a few clear breaks
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MONITORING FREQUENCY

12th Street Beach is sampled weekly from January 1st to September 5th

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

12th Street 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 2nd, 2019. 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
12°C
Cloudy with a few clear breaks

The 12th Street Beach is located just south of the heart of Chicago on the Northerly Island Peninsula, on the shore of Lake Michigan. The beach is host to great fishing and swimming and there is the opportunity to do distance swimming at the 12th Street Beach. There is a pay-to-park lot located at the beach. The beach has public washrooms and there is a wheelchair accessible walk at the beach.

Get directions to this beach
  View this beach on Great Lakes Guide
  • Report Pollution
MONITORING FREQUENCY

12th Street Beach is sampled weekly from January 1st to September 5th

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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