Grand Lake Swimming Area Remains Closed

The swimming beach at Grand Lake State Park in Bernice will remain closed for at least another week.

Water tests from the Grand River Dam Authority confirmed there is still too much E.coli bacteria in the water for people to swim safely.

It's been a week since the presence of E.coli was found at the swimming area in Bernice, and officials have been testing the water daily to see if it's safe.

Although recent tests showed the bacteria levels were dropping, there is still too much E.coli in the water to swim.

Officials say, for now, they will wait another week before reassessing the situation.

While the water is off limits, a spokesperson said," At the same time, we are still actively investigating to determine the source for these elevated levels and will continue monitoring the area daily."

They have been sent to an independent lab.

While higher levels of E.coli were found last week in the Elk River, feeding into the lake, Bernice State Park is the only area of the lake with high levels of E.coli.

GRDA reminds lake goers that this seems to be an isolated occurrence and there are many other areas of the lake that they can swim in.