It’s a hot day at Beaver Lake. Isaac and Kendra Jones are enjoying the sun and easy waves at a public swim beach near the lake’s dam.
Isaac said they appreciated how the spot was pretty much empty except for them, their dog and a few other families.
“[We’re] just hanging out and enjoying the beautiful day, nice sunny day,” Isaac said. “We just came to try and find a nice little spot away from a bunch of crowded people. And seems like we found one here. This place is really nice.”
It really is a pleasant beach. There’s ample shade, a few picnic tables, and plenty of room to spread out. But this beach isn’t always accessible. Periodically, it’s closed due to higher-than-acceptable levels of E. coli in the water. E. coli is a bacteria that can be found in any natural body of water. If ingested, it can cause stomach cramps, diarrhea, vomiting, and even fever.
Isaac said he saw a news report about such closures and was initially concerned by this information.
“A little unsettling at first,” Isaac said. “We did a little bit of research and just saw that they were all back open and safe to the public, so kind of just went with it, just kind of trusting everyone's word.”
Public access swim beaches at Beaver Lake are managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Most recently, they shut down dam site beaches on June 25 due to unacceptable levels of E. coli bacteria in the water but reopened them in time for the Fourth of July. Corps spokesperson Jay Townsend said they test water on behalf of the Arkansas Department of Health.
“And if we get higher than acceptable levels of E. coli,” Townsend said, “then they tell us we need to close these swim beaches down until we can get two clean samples in a row.”
The health department may request testing multiple times throughout the season.
“We try to test about three times a year minimum.”
That’s Richard McMullen. He’s the director of science for the ADH, and he said E.coli testing first occurs before any swimmers even have a chance to get in the water.
“We open up a swim beach with a test,” McMullen said. “It takes two tests to get somebody going, whether they have test results that are acceptable. And then the beaches open for the season. And then we try to have samples collected before any major holiday. So typically, there's about three sample periods throughout the swim season.”
Again, E. coli is found in all natural bodies of water. It’s generally safe to splash around in those areas, but when E. coli levels reach past 126 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters of water, Townsend said the Corps of Engineers needs to prohibit swimming.
“So we close the swim beaches, because if you get too much of it, it's going to ruin your day, maybe even 48 hours, until it's all cleared up. And so we just don't want folks out there swimming in that. And we just, we have to look at that and say, ‘Okay, is this an indicator that it's going to get worse or that it's going to get better?’ So then that's why we test every single day. And typically, we find that you keep people out of it, we let natural wave action continue to clean the water in and out of there. You know that wave actions from wind and from boats, it'll typically get better.”
A variety of factors can lead to increased levels of E. coli. A heavy presence of migratory waterfowl like geese is a common cause because their feces may runoff into the water. Another is intense rainfall, which may stir sediment and pull debris from the shore. Townsend said the Corps has attempted mitigation efforts in the past, but they were less than effective.
“There have been past years where we did things to deter migrating birds,” Townsend said. “You know, a lot of people like to point the finger at Canadian geese– They're just one of the causes of this– But we've put stuff in the grass that that when it gets on their bellies, they don't like it, so they typically stay out of those areas. And we've done thunderclap cannons, things that just kind of help deter these geese.”
You might’ve missed what he said there. The Corps attempted to use a thunderclap cannon to deter birds. That’s a gadget that produces a loud yet harmless boom equivalent to a 37mm cannon. Townsend said it worked at first, but eventually, the geese figured out it was just a sound with no associated danger.
“So, we really didn't see that much of a difference,” he said. “And so you just don't see us doing that kind of preventative stuff anymore. Really, it's just that natural wave action from the wind and the boats and other elements that allows that water to clean itself.”
Public swim beaches at large bodies of water like Beaver Lake aren’t the only publicly accessible natural swim areas. On any given July weekend, West Fork’s Riverside Park is packed with people cooling off in the West Fork River that runs through town. McMullen from ADH said people should exercise caution swimming anywhere. Lifejackets, adult supervision, and — if you’re planning to drink alcohol, consuming it in moderation — are always best practices. He said people should assess the water they’re about to enter because there can be microscopic threats outside of E.coli bacteria.
“Another microbe that we're not really even monitoring for, but would be like harmful algal blooms,” McMullen said. “Those are from cyanotoxin-producing bacteria, and those can be very problematic. They actually produce a toxin in the water. It kind of would have like a funny green sheen on the water.”
He said if ADH becomes aware of an area experiencing a harmful algal bloom, they work with the state Division of Environmental Quality to evaluate the situation and post signage warning people not to swim there.
“Because those toxins, they can irritate the skin,” McMullen said. “Small animals or children that have kind of a small surface area– their skin surface area– in proportion to their overall mass, could be more adversely affected than, say, an adult, if you were exposed to any of those toxins.”
Summer in Arkansas is a treat partially because of our ample access to public swimming areas on lakes, rivers and streams throughout the state. But a fun day at the lake can turn around if you don’t stay safe. You can visit the Corps of Engineers website to view current beach closures on Corps of Engineers-managed waterfronts like Beaver Lake. You can also visit the ADH’s Swim Beach Program webpage or the DEQ’s website for more information.
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