State beach monitoring coordinator Eric O’Brien says two beaches will have warning signs for high levels of bacteria after the weekly testing. He says both beaches are in eastern Iowa where there has been a lot of rain this week, Backbone State Park Beach and Lake Darling. O’Brien says they did retest after the original tests, but the levels did not come down enough to withdraw the advisories.
O’Brien says there hasn’t been a lot of call for posting beach warnings so far this year. O’Brien says the bacteria levels are typically rainfall dependent, and it’s been s spotty year for rain. O’Brien says they’re also doing more follow up testing now, and water that shows a spike in bacteria may come back okay in the second test, and not require the beach be posted. The tests are drawing more interest as we’re now getting into the peak of the water recreation season.
O’Brien says there’s been good weather the last few weeks and there has been a lot of people out at the beaches. You can find out more at the Department of Natural Resources website at: www.iowadnr.gov . Click on the "Beach Monitoring" link.