About BeachGuard

 

BeachGuard is an online system originally developed by the State of Michigan to collect beach sampling data from local health agencies and make the data available via a public web site. Since launched in 2001, BeachGuard has been implemented by three other Great Lakes States; Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio:

Each system is operated by the State's environmental or public health agency.

Get Beaches API

 

The Beaches API Returns an XML document containing a list of beaches that match the criteria provided. At least one parameter must be provided in order for the service to return any data. All parameters are optional.

Service URL

The service is located at the following URL: http://www.deq.state.mi.us/beach/rest/beach.aspx
Substitute the root portion of the URL to access data from implementations in states other than Michigan.

Service Parameters

waterbodybeach: A partial string search of either the waterbody or beach name. For example "chicago" will return any beaches containing the word "chicago" in either their beach name or waterbody name.

countyid: A number indicating the county in which the beach resides. The numbers relate to the alphabetical county list for the counties in the given state. For example, in Michigan, County #1 is Alcona County.

beachtype: Either "Public", "Private", or "All" to return public, private, or all beaches.

wbtype: Filter for a specific Great Lake. For example, "GL_MICH" returns only beaches on Lake Michigan. Support for this parameter varies by state implementation.

instatepark: Set to True to only return beaches that are located within a state park.

Example Service Call

Return all public beaches:

Return all beaches Containing "Harrisville":

Sample Response Format

The following XML snippet provides an example XML response for a single beach.

<BeachList>
	<BeachIdentity>
		<BeachIdentifiers>
			<BeachID>2910</BeachID>
			<EpaBeachID>MI388337</EpaBeachID>
			<WqxStationID>010097</WqxStationID>
		</BeachIdentifiers>
		<BeachName>Harrisville Public Access</BeachName>
		<BeachDescription>Harrisville</BeachDescription>
		<BeachURL>http://www.deq.state.mi.us/beach/BeachDetail.aspx?BeachId=2910</BeachURL>
		<WaterbodyName>Lake Huron</WaterbodyName>
		<WaterbodyType>Great Lake</WaterbodyType>
		<OwnershipType/>
		<ZipCode/>
		<Latitude>44.66118</Latitude>
		<Longitude>-83.2849</Longitude>
		<County>
			<CountyID>1</CountyID>
			<CountyName>Alcona</CountyName>
		</County>
		<FacilityDescription/>
		<HasAdvisory>False</HasAdvisory>
		<MetaData>
			<CreatedDate>2006-12-04T08:24:27.0000000</CreatedDate>
			<UpdatedDate>2006-12-15T08:02:14.6800000</UpdatedDate>
		</MetaData>
	</BeachIdentity>
</BeachList>

Get Advisories/Closings API

 

The Advisories/Closings API Returns an XML document containing a list of beach advisories or closings that are currently in effect. This service takes no parameters.

Service URL

The service is located at the following URL: http://www.deq.state.mi.us/beach/rest/advisory.aspx
Substitute the root portion of the URL to access data from implementations in states other than Michigan.

Service Parameters

none

Example Service Call

Return all advisories/closings:

Sample Response Format

The following XML snippet provides an example XML response for a single beach.

<AdvisoryList>
	<AdvisoryIdentity>
		<AdvisoryID>41926</AdvisoryID>
		<BeachID>260</BeachID>
		<AdvisoryType>Closure</AdvisoryType>
		<AdvisoryReasonType>High bacteria levels</AdvisoryReasonType>
		<AdvisoryStartDate>2010-06-24T00:00:00.0000000</AdvisoryStartDate>
		<NextSampleDate/>
		<PollutionSource>Unknown</PollutionSource>
		<AdvisoryComment/>
		<IssuingOrganizationID>7</IssuingOrganizationID>
		<IssuingOrganizationName>Illinois Department of Public Health</IssuingOrganizationName>
		<MetaData>
			<CreatedDate>2010-06-24T12:27:55.7330000</CreatedDate>
			<UpdatedDate>2010-06-24T12:27:55.7330000</UpdatedDate>
		</MetaData>
	</AdvisoryIdentity>
</AdvisoryList>