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Bundles

SwimCheck

Test the water people swim in.

$800

Checkout arrives with the store connection. Orders attach to the lake on your account.

Overview

SwimCheck tests the water where people swim for the two things that close beaches: bacteria and algal toxin. Five E. coli kits give you enough samples to judge the swim area the way standards do, on a pattern rather than a single result. Click, pay, and the kits ship. No call required.

What you get & how it's made

3 components

You get

  • E. coli & coliform test: 5 kits
  • Microcystin test: 1 kit
  • Satellite Snapshot of current conditions
Product category
  • CombinationKit with multiple items
  • ServiceBy the Lake Pulse Boathouse
  • Availability
  • Shipping

    Flat-rate to your front door. Shipping details

  • SKU

    LP-BH-BUNDLE-005

Turnaround

Kits ship after checkout. The satellite snapshot posts within 3 business days. Lab results post as the lab completes its analysis, typically within days of receipt.

What problem does this solve for our lake?

  • Is the water where people swim safe from bacteria and algal toxin?
  • Swim water is the question a lake community is asked most and is least equipped to answer. Closing a beach that was fine damages trust and the season. Keeping one open that was not is far worse.
  • Most state swim standards judge E. coli on the geometric mean of several samples, not one result. SwimCheck gives you five, plus a microcystin test, so the conversation starts from data.

What's included

  • E. Coli & Coliform Enumeration Test5 kits

    Quantified bacteria counts — the standard measure of whether water is safe to swim in.

    Measures: E. coli, Total coliform

  • Microcystin (Cyanotoxin) Test1 kit

    The liver toxin that closes beaches.

    Measures: Total microcystins

  • Snapshot

    What is happening on your lake right now, without waiting for a field visit.

    Maps: Bloom index, Turbidity/sediment index

  • Prepaid return shipping and cold packs for every lab kit
  • All results load to your lake portal

See each product for methods, detection limits, and turnaround.

What's not included

  • An official swim advisory. SwimCheck results are screening data. Advisories are issued by your state or local health authority.
  • The comprehensive microbiology panel. See the Lab Testing aisle.
  • Sample collection. You collect with the kits provided. Boathouse field collection is available separately.
  • A call with the Boathouse. Add a 30-minute call at checkout for $50.

Requirements

  • A Lake Pulse account at any tier. On Plus and Lake Admin, results load to your lake's portal; on Member and Basic, they are emailed to you.
  • Access to the swim area
  • Shipping samples the same day you collect them
  • Satellite components need a lake of about 25 acres or more.
  • Questions before you order? Contact the Boathouse.
What you get back

Results

  • E. coli and total coliform counts (MPN per 100 mL) for five samples
  • A geometric mean across the five
  • Microcystin concentration
  • A current satellite snapshot of the lake
  • Everything loads to your lake portal on Plus and Lake Admin, or arrives by email on Member and Basic

Pro tips

  • Spread the five E. coli samples across up to 30 days, at the same spot.
  • Sample early in the week and ship the same day, so samples do not sit in transit over a weekend.
  • Sample at least once after rain. Bacteria spikes follow runoff.
  • Shallow, warm, enclosed swim areas with waterfowl are where problems concentrate.
  • Know your state's thresholds before you test, and decide in advance who acts on a high result.

Results load to your lake's portal on Plus and Lake Admin; on Member and Basic, they are emailed to you.

Compare subscriptions

About these results

Every result shows the date and time the sample was collected. Results reflect one sample, collected at a specific place and depth, and analyzed by an independent accredited laboratory using the method listed on this page. Lake conditions change across a lake and over time, sometimes within hours, in ways a single sample may not capture. Every method has detection and reporting limits; where the laboratory provides them, they are reported with your results. A detection is not a diagnosis, and a non-detection does not prove absence. Results are not a regulatory or compliance determination unless the agency involved accepts them as one. Results can help you make decisions about safe swimming and water use, but no result is definitive for every place and time. It is always good practice to check posted signs and your state or local health authorities. Recommendations are options to consider; decisions, and responsibility for any action taken, rest with you.

Every image shows the date it was captured. Satellite products are derived from reflected light recorded as a satellite passes over your lake. Values are relative indices, not laboratory concentrations, and cannot identify an organism, a toxin, or a pollutant. Cloud, haze, sun glint, shallow water, and shoreline effects can distort or hide the signal, and small lakes, narrow arms, and coves may fall below the image resolution. Conditions can change within hours of a pass. The absence of a detected bloom does not mean the water is safe.

Blooms move, and toxin production can change quickly. A low or non-detected result applies only to the water sampled. The absence of a detected bloom or toxin does not mean the water is safe. Bacteria levels can change within a day, especially after rain. Official swim advisories and beach closures are issued by your local health authority.

Questions on this?

Our team can help you choose the right solution for your lake, explain how results sync to your Portal, or point you to the right subscription.

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