Beachgoers and boaters enjoy newly clean environment at Bay City State Park.

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THE BEACH? WELL! Crowds Return to Clean Bay City State Park Beach

Tenth Annual Event Draws 200 Runners, Celebrates Success

June 29, 2016
By: Dave Rogers

The Beach Wellness initiative of county commissioners Ernie Krygier and Kim Coonan at the Bay City State Park is 10 years old, and guess what?

THE BEACH IS WELL!

"Beach Wellness is focused on beautifying and maintaining our local beach through community involvement and outreach," say the founders and stem-winders.

They also note the project is aimed at "promoting economic stability, tourism and community wellness through enhancing and maintaining the condition of our local shoreline.

About 200 runners participated in a variety of races at the park June 25, said Mr. Krygier, obviously ecstatic over the turnout and the vastly improved condition of the beach.

The races included a 5-K run (3.1 miles), 10Krun (6.2 miles), 5-K walk and Kids' Run.

Beach volleyball and classic cars also were attractions at the event.

After years of sweeping and grooming the beach with mechanized equipment, and agonizing over the causes of the muck, suddenly it is muck free.

"It's second to none in our area," says Krygier, "I hope you get a chance to come out and enjoy it."

Eye in the sky film of the beach and events at the Beach Wellness was taken by Nick Paige, of the new Bay County Community Media Center (CMC), (formerly Bay3TV) is posted on the county website (www.baycounty-mi.gov) and also is available through the YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbOksPomWdk

Water quality and environmental experts lately have made the local beach a focus of studies and remedial action.

But, suddenly, perhaps related to an 8.6-inch rise in water levels since April 2015, the Saginaw Bayshore has almost miraculously come clean.

Swimmers and sunbathers now are thronging back to the beach as in days of yore. In 1959, the park manager George Lauinger noted recently, Bay City had the highest use of any state park in Michigan.

At the height of the Great Depression in 1933, Bay City State Park had 1 million visitors.

The exact combination of conditions that caused the disappearance of the muck are still being analyzed, but the Bayshore beach is almost pristine these days. Some reports were that the inlet of the lagoon had shifted as a result of winds and higher water, somehow eliminating the pile-up of algae causing muck that has plagued the beach for decades.

Whatever caused the improvement, the Beach Wellness Team of Krygier and Coonan, that also includes county legislative/financial aide Bob Redmond, is breathing sighs of relief. Their fingers are crossed behind their back in hopes the clean conditions and lack of muck persist.

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