Chatfield State Park’s swim beach is temporarily closed after routine water testing found higher-than-allowable amounts of bacteria Wednesday.
While swimming is off limits until the bacteria levels normalize, the closure does not impact other park activities such as boating, water skiing, fishing or picnicking, according to the Colorado Parks and Wildlife website.
“To protect the public, these water-quality tests are performed at least once a week,” said Jennifer Anderson, Chatfield State Park’s operations manager, in a news release. “The high levels of the bacteria, E. coli, may have occurred due to recent high temperatures. Park staff closed the beach to swimming Wednesday morning, immediately after getting the tests results, and took new water samples from the area for testing to monitor the bacteria levels.”
The beach will remain closed and the water will be tested daily until the bacteria levels meet the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment requirements, the release said.
