Calumet Beach

Managed by Swim Drink Fish Canada - Great Lakes Guide

Calumet Beach is a part of Calumet Park on Chicago's south shore of Lake Michigan. There is a parking lot available, and the beach is wheelchair accessible. There is also a concession stand and public washrooms. There is an area for distance swimming at the south end of the beach. The Indiana/Illinois state border is just offshore. The red and white striped stacks beside the beach are part of a power generating plant.

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Water Quality

Passed water quality tests 60-95% of the time
Historical Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on September 2nd, 2022. 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 September 2nd, 2022 at 12:24 PM.

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Current Weather

19°C

Clear and sunny

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Monitoring Frequency

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