Increasingly, water quality notices are posted on the north & south shore beaches of Devil’s Lake State Park. In addition to Swimmer’s Itch notices, the lake can also test for a a higher than acceptable level of E.Coli during the busy summer months.
How Testing & Report Works
If you are concerned about E. Coli, it’s good to know how the testing actually works. Firstly, E.Coli levels change daily. When a water sample is taken from the various parts of the lake, it takes a couple days to send in the sample to a lab and get the results back. This means that the test result that can close the beach, was actually from the water 2 or 3 days ago. By the time the signs go up, the numbers will have changed. It could be higher, lower or the same. This is why retesting takes place right away. Because of that 2-3 day lag between sampling and getting the report, the notice tells you more about how the lake was than is. Something to keep in mind.
Online Reporting?
It certainly sucks if you’ve driven 1 hour, 3 hours or more to swim only to find signs up when you get there! So how do you get this info online? Well, it depends on where you look. Over many years of experience we have seen that neither the official “Current Conditions” page, nor the official mailing list offers this information. However, the Wisconsin Beach Health is generally up-to-date with advisory around the state including Devil’s Lake. Another option is to follow us on Facebook. We do our best to post advisories as soon as we see them as well.
Common Questions
What is E. Coli?
E. coli is a common form of coliform bacteria that is found in the large intestines of humans and other warm-blooded animals. It is used as an indicator organism since it is easily cultured, and if present in elevated amounts, indicates that fecal matter is present in the water. If fecal matter is in the water, then other disease-causing bacteria may also be present..
E. Coli is not the same as “Swimmer’s Itch”.
How long will it take to clean the lake?
You can not “clean” a natural lake in the way that you might a swimming pool. You simply must wait for levels to go down in the affected area.
Why is there an advisory for one side of the lake and not the other?
Sometimes there will be an advisory for only one side or section of a lake or beach area. This is because the body of water is large enough that it is possible to have one end with elevated bacteria levels and the other end to be considered under safe levels with little threat of being contaminated. This is why you will see swimming, boating and other activities going on as usual in other areas of the lake.
More info
- Click here to learn more about e coli and beach monitoring from the Wisconsin DNR.
- A good E. Coli overview – Purdue U.
- Thinking differently about E-coli – from the national park service
- Symptoms of E. Coli – Mayo Clinic