https://phys.org/news/2018-05-coli-beach-gulls.html

"It's important to encourage access to these important natural areas," says Meredith Nevers. Nevers is a research ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. "Finding and eliminating the source of E. coli, which is one reason for closing beaches, can lead to fewer beach closings and more people getting to the beach."

Nevers worked with colleagues from the USGS as well as Michigan State University. The team sampled water from Lake Michigan beaches in Indiana in 2015 and 2016.