(Des Moines)– The Iowa Department of Natural Resources will once again be monitoring state park beaches throughout the state this summer for any signs of bacteria.
The agency will once again collect samples at 39 state park beaches on a weekly basis beginning this coming Monday, May 20th and continuing through August. Results will be posted at the DNR’s website, www.iowadnr.gov.
The agency says an advisory will be issued for any beach whenever five most recent samples within a 30-day period exceeds 126 E. coli bacteria per 100 milliliters of water, or if the beach has had bacteria problems in the past and the most recent sample exceeds the one-time sample maximum standard of 235 E. coli bacteria per 100 milliliters of water.
The DNR says posting a swimming advisory does not close a beach, but that it does reserve the right to close a beach in the event of a documented health risk such as a wastewater discharge, hazardous chemical spill or a localized outbreak of an infectious disease.
In addition to state park beaches, several county- and city-run beaches and other locally managed recreational areas in Iowa have volunteered to participate in the weekly beach monitoring program.
