JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Three state park swimming beaches are temporarily closed for water quality issues.

The state park beaches at Harry S Truman in Warsaw, Lake of the Ozarks in Osage Beach and Mark Twain in Florida are closed following results of water samples takenMondaythat indicated bacteria levels higher than those recommended for waters used for swimming.

Last week, Mark Twain in Florida, Lake Wappapello in Williamsville, and Thousand Hills in Kirksville were closed due to flooding. The beaches remain closed due to flooding and Mark Twain remains closed due flooding and high bacteria levels.

The campground beach at Harry S Truman State Park remains open. Visitors to Harry S Truman State Park may stop by the office or fee booth to obtain a pass free of charge to swim at the campground beach. Once tests from the three state park beaches indicate the bacteria levels are within the standard suitable for swimming, the beaches will reopen.

The department collects water samples from all designated beaches in the state park system weekly during the recreational season to determine suitability for swimming. Beaches will be closed for high bacteria when a single E. coli sample exceeds 235 cfu/100ml or when the geometric mean a 30-day rolling average exceeds 126 cfu/100 ml. The sample test results indicate a snap shot of the water quality taken at the beaches at a specific time; however, a single sample does not provide an overall sense of the water quality in the lake where the beach is located.

The department will post the information about the beach status on the website atdnr.mo.govas well as mostateparks.com. Visitors to Missouri State Parks are able to sign up to receive free electronic notices about the status of state park beaches while visiting the departments beach status website.

Read the original:

High bacteria levels cause closure of swimming beaches at Truman, Lake of the Ozarks state parks