Presque Isle State Park bans swimming at Beach 3 due to high E. coli levels

Presque Isle State Park officials issued a swimming restriction Tuesday for Beach 3 (Barracks Beach) due to high E. coli bacteria levels in the beachwater. All of Presque Isle's other guarded beaches are open for swimming.

Swimming in water that contains high amounts of E. coli can cause skin infections and gastrointestinal illness, especially in children and people with weakened immune systems. E. coli is also a marker for other bacteria.

What caused the swimming restriction?

The geometric mean of Beach 3 samples tested over the past 30 days has a most probable number of 128.5 E. coli units per 100 milliliters of water, higher than the 126 allowed for swimming.

Swimming restrictions can also be issued if a single day's worth of testing at a particular beach results in samples containing more than 999 E. coli units per 100 milliliters.

Can people still go to Beach 3?

Though people and animals are not permitted into the water at Beach 3, the beach remains open for sunbathing and other activities, park officials said.

Beachwater testing will be performed daily while the restriction remains in effect.

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This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Presque Isle State Park bans swimming at Beach 3 due to E. coli