From about Memorial Day through Labor Day, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) conducts weekly monitoring of bacterial pollution in Iowa’s 39 state park beaches.
The DNR analyzes water samples from the beaches for certain one-celled microorganisms, known as indicator bacteria, that are visible only under a microscope. High levels of E. coli, a common indicator bacteria, indicate feces is in the water. Livestock are the most common source of feces in surface waters in Iowa.
These indicator bacteria are commonly used by state environmental agencies and by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to determine the suitability of beaches for swimming-type uses.
Microcystin, a toxin produced by harmful blue-green algae blooms, has also often been detected in Iowa’s water bodies.
Due to health risks, when microcystin or E. coli levels exceed certain standards/thresholds, the DNR posts swim advisories telling beach-goers to stay out of the water.
The Iowa DNR and the Iowa Environmental Council track these weekly beach monitoring reports and swim advisories and compare advisory trends from year to year. To review recent trend data, visit the Iowa DNR website.
Nineteen beach advisories were issued for Iowa beaches for the week of August 15.
Eighteen beaches with an E. coli advisory:
- Backbone Beach (Dundee, Delaware County)*
- Beed’s Lake Beach (Hampton, Franklin County)*
- Brushy Creek Beach (Lehigh, Webster County)*
- Bobwhite State Park (Allerton, Wayne County)*
- Clear Lake Beach (Clear Lake, Cerro Gordo County)*
- Crandall’s Beach (Big Spirit Lake, Spirit Lake, Dickinson County)*
- Emerson Bay Beach (West Okoboji Lake, Milford, Dickinson County)*
- George Wyth Beach (Waterloo, Black Hawk County)*
- Lacey-Keosauqua Beach (Keosauqua, Van Buren County)*
- Lake Ahquabi Beach (Indianola, Warren County)*
- Lake Darling Beach (Brighton, Washington County)*
- Lake Macbride (Solon, Johnson County)*
- Lake Manawa Beach (Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie County)*
- Lake of Three Fires Beach (Bedford, Taylor County)*
- Lower Pine Lake Beach (Eldora, Hardin County)*
- Pleasant Creek Lake Beach (Palo, Linn County)*
- Prairie Rose Beach (Harlan, Shelby County)*
- Union Grove Beach (Gladbrook, Tama County)*
One beach with a microcystin advisory:
- Lake Darling Beach (Brighton, Washington County)*
Five U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Monitored Beaches with an E. coli advisory:
- North Overlook Beach (Lake Red Rock, Pella, Marion County)**
- Sugar Bottom Beach (Coralville Lake, Coralville, Johnson County)**
- Sugar Bottom Campground Beach (Coralville Lake, Coralville, Johnson County)**
- West Overlook Beach (Coralville Lake, Coralville, Johnson County)**
- Whitebreast Beach (Lake Red Rock, Pella, Marion County)**
Note: Monitoring has been suspended at Lake Keomah due to renovation activities. McIntosh Woods Beach is closed due to park storm damage. From the Army Corps of Engineers, Oak Grove Beach was not sampled due to high water elevations.
Para ver este aviso en español, haga clic aquí.
*Data from the Iowa DNR State Park Beach Monitoring Program
**Data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District
