King County public health officials are urging people to avoid the water at three beaches along Lake Washington after high levels of bacteria were reported.
Recent water samples from Andrews Bay Beach in Seward Park, Enatai Beach in Bellevue and Houghton Beach in Kirkland showed the issue and were tested on June 17. According to King County.
Seattle Parks and Recreation Officials I posted this on social platform On Thursday, it was announced that both people and pets should stay away from contaminated water.
Other King County beaches that were closed earlier this month, including Madrona Beach, Madison Park Beach and Seattle’s Matthews Beach, have also reopened based on updated water samples.
Bacterial testing is common in King County’s waters, especially Major lake with popular public swimming beach, Lake Washington, Lake Sammamish, and Green Lake. According to King County websiteWater is typically tested every Monday or Tuesday afternoon and results are available later in the week.
Bacteria found in tested water often come from human, pet, and wildlife waste or toxic algae. The county conducts bacterial testing of water from mid-May to mid-September.
“We use bacteria test results to predict how likely people are to get sick from germs that may be in the water,” the website says. “There are many different types of germs (bacteria, viruses, parasites, etc.) that can come from poop, and it is impossible to test for each one. Instead, we test for one type of bacteria that is easy to measure and is commonly used to predict the risk of getting sick from swimming.”
The website states that swimming in polluted water can cause symptoms including diarrhea, vomiting or nausea, abdominal pain, headache and fever. There is also the possibility of eye, ear, nose, throat, or skin infections. Certain groups, including children, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems, are at higher risk for the disease.
