Rainbow Beach

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

Rainbow Beach and the surrounding park offer you many opportunities to get active and have fun. There is a large gym, along with outdoor hand ball, tennis and basketball courts, as well as a few baseball diamonds. There are public washrooms and a wheelchair accessible path at the beach. The beach is great for swimming and relaxing, and there is long distance swimming available.

WATER QUALITY
  • Passed water quality tests 60-95% 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 with a few clear breaks
  View this beach on Great Lakes Guide
  • Report Pollution
MONITORING FREQUENCY

Rainbow 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

Rainbow Beach

Chicago, Illinois
Managed by Swim Drink Fish Canada - Great Lakes Guide
WATER QUALITY
  • Passed water quality tests 60-95% 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 with a few clear breaks

Rainbow Beach and the surrounding park offer you many opportunities to get active and have fun. There is a large gym, along with outdoor hand ball, tennis and basketball courts, as well as a few baseball diamonds. There are public washrooms and a wheelchair accessible path at the beach. The beach is great for swimming and relaxing, and there is long distance swimming available.

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

Rainbow 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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