The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has changed the water quality status at Lake Darling State Park from okay for swimming to swimming not recommended. 

Higher levels of E. coli have been detected and exposure to this could lead to some health risks such as upset stomach and skin irritation. Lake Darling Park Manager Nick Young shares the procedure for testing the levels of the water, “Basically they take five tests and they average them out. If the test is higher than the certain threshold then they send it off as a ‘swimming not recommended.’” 

Lake Darling’s results exceeded the 126 colony forming units of E. coli bacteria per 100 milliliters of water from the geometric mean of five samples in a 30 day period. Swimming advisories are typically issued each Friday during the recreational monitoring season between Memorial Day and Labor Day. This will remain the status until the e-coli levels drop below the water level standard.