Many lakes, rivers go untested for harmful bacteria

Many people will spend time with family and friends on the water this upcoming holiday weekend.

Over the summer, the state tests 18 designated swim beaches for E. coli and other harmful bacteria. All of those beaches are currently open.

But many other bodies of water go untested.

Cole County Environmental Supervisor Brandon Rekus said testing rivers or other natural waters can be tricky.

“When you have a large rain event, flooding, that type of thing, increase in flow, you expect to find increased bacteria levels,” Rekus said. “With a river you have fluctuating flow constantly so that would cause a variation. Testing is an indicator, you know it gives an indicator of the water quality, but it’s not as something like drinking water.”

Water quality can also vary just feet away from the testing site or from day to day, according to Rekus.

If you go swimming in a body of water, Rekus said to be aware of your surroundings.

“Visual indicators of the the water quality are pretty obvious, you know, how clean the water looks, smells that kind of thing,” Rekus said. “Avoid any areas that the water doesn’t look good. Obviously if there’s signs posted where testing has occurred, heed those warnings cause there’s a good reason to avoid that.”

Also look to see if there is evidence livestock or other animals have been in the area, as animals can carry harmful bacteria or deposit waste in the water.

“There’s a lot of variability, but it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do the testing,” Rekus said. “It’s still an indicator, but it has it’s limits.”

The Cole County Health Department typically sees gastrointestinal illnesses from unclean water. Those can come with symptoms including stomach issues, diarrhea, headache and fever.