Health department officials warned against swimming at two Buckeye Lake beaches on Wednesday.
Officials from the Ohio Department of Health said that E.coli levels at Crystal and Fairfield beaches exceeded safety levels.
The health department posted signs at the beaches to alert swimmers to the elevated levels, 10TV’s Jessa Goddard reported.
While there is no ban on swimming, park officials said that they advise against it.
Robert Pfeifer said that he walks his dog, Brutus, at Buckeye Lake nearly every week.
“We don’t go in the water, but we enjoy the lake, and we just stay out of the water,” Pfeifer said.
A safe E.coli level is 235 colonies per 100 milliliters of water. The Fairfield Beach peaked at 650, and Crystal Beach reached 900 colonies, Goddard reported.
Mary Clifton of the Bureau of Environmental Health said that there could be a number of sources for the contamination.
“It could be runoff, it could be failing septic systems,” Clifton said.
Clifton said that high temperatures and stagnant water also can cause bacteria to grow.
Crystal Hill and her family said that continue to swim at the beaches.
“Every year, they come out and say the bacterial levels are high, but we always manage to come out on the lake and enjoy the water,” Hill said.
Health officials said that anyone who does swim at the beaches is encouraged to wash well afterward.
Watch 10TV News and refresh 10TV.com for more information.
Comments