According to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, swimming is not recommended at this time at Lake Darling Beach. Water at the lake was last sampled on Wednesday with 820 colony forming units of E. Coli bacteria found, above the DNR’s threshold of 126 colony forming units per 100 milliliters of water. Over the last five samples taken at Lake Darling, the average is 262, also above the threshold.
The Iowa Environmental Council reports, this is the 39th time since 2014 that Lake Darling has had an advisory.
According to the DNR, samples are collected weekly from the DNR’s 40 state-owned lakes Memorial Day through Labor day with samples taken at ankle, knee and waist deep waters, then mixed to form one final sample. High levels of bacteria indicate that the water has come into contact with fecal material and that pathogens or disease causing microorganisms may be present as well as an elevated risk of becoming sick by recreating in the water.
Fifteen of Iowa’s 40 state-owned beaches are under an advisory or are closed this week.