St. Louis Beacon - Nixon administration confronts E. coli issues again at state park beaches

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Nixon administration confronts E. coli issues again at state park beaches

By Jo Mannies, Beacon political reporter

Posted 8:19 pm Wed., 5.26.10

Missouri’s E. coli bacteria problems at its state park swimming facilities -- which caused Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon a lot of headaches last summer -- have re-emerged in time for the Memorial Day weekend.

The state Department of Natural Resources has announced that swimming beaches at three state parks will be closed this holiday weekend "because of E. coli levels higher than the standards" set by the state for its beaches. E. coli is generally caused by human and animal waste getting into the water.

The three beaches at "Mark Twain State Park, the day use beach at Truman State Park and Public Beach 1 at Lake of the Ozarks State Park" will remain closed "until subsequent sampling results show E. coli levels below the department’s standard."

All three will have signs posted that they are closed.

Last summer, a political furor arose -- and legislative hearings were held -- after it was discovered that a beach had been contaminated at the Lake of the Ozarks, but the information was not made public for several weeks. The controversy ended with a longtime Nixon aide losing his job as deputy head of the department.

Here are the details of the currently affected beaches:

"Mark Twain State Park Public Beach had a single-sample maximum result of 260.1 mpn/100ml. The group camp beach met department standards and will open May 28. Members of the public looking for another state park beach might try the beach at Long Branch State Park, which met department standards."
"Truman State Park Day Use Beach had a geometric mean result of 162.1 mpn/100ml. The park’s campground beach met department standards, however is closed due to high water. Missourians looking for another state park beach can visit the beaches at Stockton State Park or Hermitage Beach at Pomme de Terre State Park, which both met department standards and are open."
"Lake of the Ozarks State Park Public Beach 1 had a geometric mean of 436.7 mpn/100ml. Public Beach 2 met department standards and will open May 28. Missourians looking for another beach to try can use Public Beach 2."

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