Lake Darling saw higher than normal levels of E. Coli this week, and while swimming has been deemed safe again, swimmers should use caution and understand the risks of E. Coli. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources frequently takes samples from Iowa’s lakes to test bacteria levels, and according to Lake and Beach Monitoring Coordinator Daniel Kendall, higher E. Coli levels at times are normal. He tells KCII News what can trigger these higher levels, “Rainfall really comes into play on this. Also, if you have goose droppings at the beach, if you have other things at the beach that can get washed down into that swim area at a lake. These rainfall events can really spike the numbers up. One thing to say about the high numbers on single sample numbers and things like that, it really only impacts our lakes that we deem as vulnerable. When we have our single sample that’s high, we tend to look at those lakes and put a warning out there early because they tend to have chronic issues with higher levels of bacteria.” Kendall cautions people from drinking lake water as drinking untreated water can lead to intestinal issues, stomach cramps, and sickness in younger children and older adults.