Algae, E.coli, and Closures: Wrapping up the 2024 Beach Season

This is the final week of summer beach monitoring, unofficially ending the summer recreational season. Thank you for following along with us for the past 15 weeks of Weekly Water Watch. Before we turn our focus toward fall, let’s look back at another unprecedented year of Iowa beach advisories.

While the state’s prolonged drought subsided in late spring, flash flooding contributed to an ‘epic’ uptick of agricultural runoff and beach advisories. In the 15-week monitoring period for 39 public beaches, Iowa DNR issued 15 beach advisories for microcystin and 134 for E. coli. In the same period, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Rock Island District issued 12 advisories for E. coli on the six beaches it monitors on Iowa reservoirs (Saylorville, Red Rock, and Coralville). The Corps released three new advisories this week at North Overlook Beach, West Overlook Beach, and the Sugar Bottom Campground. 

Beeds Lake had the most advisories for E. coli– 13 of the 15 weeks of the summer monitoring period. Since IEC began tracking E. coli advisories in 2014, this year had the second highest number of advisories behind 2015. For the second year in a row, Lake Darling had the worst overall beach health with nine E. coli advisories and eight microcystin advisories. From 2010 to 2014, the state spent $12 million to restore. Since it reopened in 2014, the lake has had 70 advisories for E. coli and 34 advisories for microcystin. 

Let’s put this in context: This past summer, the Paris Olympic Committee experienced the massive challenge of purifying the Seine River to protect Olympians from pollution and related ailments. What was the result? Some events were cancelled, several participants declined to compete in open water events, and other participants fell ill. In August, the Bleeding Heartland published an article comparing this level of contamination to that in Iowa. The highest recorded concentration of E.coli concentration in the Seine was an approximate 649mpn/100mL on July 31. That same week in Iowa, our highest concentration of E.coli was approximately 24,000mpn/100mL recorded at Hickory Grove Park and 10 other beaches had concentrations higher than the Seine. 

If these statistics concern you, you can help! Share your stories and pictures with IEC, submit action alerts or contact your legislator or local officials to express your concerns, or write a letter to the editor or op-ed for your local paper. IEC can help get your piece published. Check out our LTE and Op-Ed toolkit, or contact Communications & Advocacy Associate, Sarah Howe. 

As we enter the fall months, we’ll return to our monthly Iowa Water Watch newsletter where we will continue to bring you the latest water news and events. 

Notable statistics from summer 2024 

• Prior to this year, Lake Anita only had two microcystin advisories in the last 10 years – two in 2016 and one in 2014.
• Green Valley Lake, Honey Creek Resort Beach, and Lake Anita are the only state public beaches monitored by the Iowa DNR that have never had an E. coli advisory.
• Of the lakes monitored by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sugar Bottom Campground and West Overlook Beaches had seven E. coli advisories. 
• Since 2014, Backbone has experienced the most E. coli advisories of all monitored beaches at 138.
• Since 2014, Green Valley Lake Beach has experienced the most microcystin advisories of all monitored beaches at 55.
• 23 state park beaches recorded swim advisories this summer. 16 state park beaches did not record an advisory.

View our historical swimming advisory data at Iowa beaches. 

1. beach advisories
2. clean water
3. dnr
4. e. coli
5. microcystin
6. public beaches
7. public health
8. toxic algae
9. water quality
10. water recreation