Six state beaches exceeded healthy bacteria limits in the latest water testing and will be posted with a warning that people can swim at their own risk. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources beach monitoring coordinator, Jason McCurdy, says rainy weather has caused problems in state waters.
He says there have been a lot of storms around the state this week and the water tests taken right after the rainfall shows elevated bacteria levels. McCurdy says conditions in the water can change quickly.
McCurdy says a warm sunny day can penetrate the water and kill off the bacteria very quickly, but if the water is cloudy after a rainfall, the sunlight can’t penetrate the water and the bacteria can remain elevated for a long time. McCurdy says you should check out the water before going swimming.
McCurdy says you should look to see if an advisory is posted at the beaches, or you can go to the D.N.R. website to find the latest sample results. The areas that exceeded the bacteria limits in the latest testing are: Beeds Lake, Black Hawk Beach, Geode Lake Beach, Lake of Three Fires Beach, Red Haw Beach and Union Grove Beach.
See the report on the link below.