By Gracie Hart Brooks
Editor
Water issues continue to intermittently plague Lake of the Woods.
The residential neighborhood has experienced numerous closures of its lakes and beaches over the past months, both due to E.coli and algae overgrowth.
As of Wednesday, the cove area of the 500-acre Main Lake was under a swim advisory due to a sewage overflow near the 1200 block of Lakeview Parkway. According to Lake of the Woods personnel, the overflow occurred on a private lot and made contact with a surface water connection to the Main Lake. “Out of an abundance of caution” a swim advisory was issued. E.Coli testing is being conducted. Swimmers were advised to engage in water activities at their own risk until test results confirm concentrations.
Meanwhile, the 24-acre Keaton’s Lake is closed due to harmful algal bloom conditions. Testing was conducted on samples collected July 23 from three sampling sites. Those tests determined an average of 61,366 cells/mL of potentially toxigenic cyanobacteria. The neighborhood’s protocol sets a closure threshold of values greater than 50,000 cells/mL.
Water quality testing is ongoing. Samples were collected most recently on Wednesday with results expected by Aug. 8. The neighborhood administration is moving forward with treatment as soon as possible and will continue water sampling.
