Milwaukee Health Department gives inside look at how beach water quality tests are performed

NOW: Milwaukee Health Department gives inside look at how beach water quality tests are performedTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 videoMILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The Milwaukee Health Department invited the media to watch them sample and test the city's beach water quality on Monday, Aug. 10. The testing process is completed three times a week between Memorial Day and Labor Day ever Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. CBS 58Sample collectors go into the water at about calf-level and capture it in collection bottles then hand it off to the Milwaukee Health Department's laboratory. So it's really important to keep an eye before you go in the water, if there's high E. coli, you have a high risk of contracting a GI illness," said Julia Zimmer, senior microbiologist with the Milwaukee Health Department. The DNA extraction process used by the health department since 2024 produces test results in three to four hours, a significant improvement from their previous process which could take almost a full day.