Editor’s note: The video above was originally published in July 2018.
Magnuson Beach in Seattle is closed until further notice. Water quality testing found high levels of E. coli bacteria at the Lake Washington beach.
Officials recommend that people and pets don’t swim or wade at the beach during the closure.
Tests on Monday found the E. coli value at 4733 colony forming units (CFU) per 100 mL of water. Values above 1000 CFU/100 mL are considered a high concern.
King County monitors levels of harmful algae and bacteria at 19 lifeguarded beaches and four tributary creeks through the Swimming Beach Monitoring Program.
Water samples are collected at King County beaches every week from three different parts of each beach. The test results are averaged together to find the bacteria value.
A beach is usually reopened when the three-day average E. Coli value is below 200 CFU/100 mL and the daily E. Coli values from the two most recent sampling days are both below 200 CFU/100 mL, according to the King County website.
