Dane County Turns to Crane Engineering to Help Prevent Beach Closures

6/12/2017 - Dane County Turns to Technology to Convert Frequently Closed Local Beach into Hub of Safe, Summer Swimming

“Clean Beach Corridor” Launched at Goodland County Park; Additional Beach Filtering System Slated for Warner Beach in Madison

Dane County is moving forward with implementing state of the art systems to keep beaches clean and safe for swimming, County Executive Joe Parisi announced today.  Parisi was joined by a number of local leaders in unveiling the county’s second ever “Clean Beach Corridor” at Goodland County Park in the Town of Dunn.  The beach at Goodland closed 19 times last summer.  With the new sand-filtered beach system and corridor of booms installed by the county, water around the beach will remain safe for swimming through this summer and beyond. 

“Our lakes are the place to be when southern Wisconsin summers turn hot and humid so it’s imperative we do all we can to create fun, safe places for families to come and cool off,” Parisi said.  “This new Clean Beach Corridor means when a family packs up to head out to the beach, they know when they get here they’ll be able to swim and have fun.”  

Dane County staff teamed up with Crane Engineering to build technology that walls off a corridor of filtered, clean lake water along a beach, blocking algae from blowing in from other parts of the lake.  The sand filter draws water from the half acre sized safe swimming corridor created by a “curtain” in the lake, filtering 80 gallons per minute.  The new system at Goodland was developed after a successful pilot of a “Clean Beach Corridor” system launched a year ago at Lake Mendota County Park in Middleton.  Since the debut of that technology, the beach at Lake Mendota County Park has become a popular attraction for kids and families.

Water testing done outside and within the corridor in place at Lake Mendota County Park shows that beach would have been closed at times last summer had it not been for the “Clean Beach Corridor.”

Each Dane County “Clean Beach Corridor” costs around $80,000.  Funds for the projects were included in County Executive Parisi’s 2017 budget.   In addition to installing the new system at Goodland, this year’s budget includes the county’s share of a new partnership with the City of Madison to bring a “Clean Beach Corridor” to Warner Beach.  Design work on that project is underway this summer with construction slated for the spring of 2018.