AMESBURY — On most hot, hazy summer days, Lake Gardner Beach would be teeming with kids splashing in and out of the water.
Yesterday, just a few days after the beach was closed due to high bacteria counts, just a few families joined the lifeguard on duty.
However, the high concentrations of E. coli found in Lake Gardner early last week appear to have been an isolated, passing phenomenon, as water samples collected on Friday indicated low enough levels of the bacteria to warrant the reopening of the beach to swimmers.
After a two-day closure, the Board of Health gave the go-ahead to reopen the popular town beach on Saturday, after samples taken Friday morning verified the levels had normalized and dipped below the state's threshold for the issuance of advisories and closures.
While the original Monday, Aug. 2 samples presented with 2,400 MPN (most probable number)/100 mililiters of water, Friday's samples showed concentrations of E. coli at 30 MPN/100 mL of water.
"The likely cause of the spiked test result earlier in the week was a lack of rain causing lower water levels and less water circulation," according to town officials.
Lake Gardner Beach is tested weekly throughout the summer, and up until last Monday the presence of E. coli has been well below the state's warning threshold.
In nearby Lake Attitash, where an advisory was issued on Friday to avoid the lake due to high concentrations of cyanobacteria, or blue green algae, another round of tests will be performed this week to see if levels have decreased below the 75,000 cells per million recorded at Sandy Beach last Thursday. Levels must present below that state Department of Health threshold for two straight weeks in a row for the advisory to be lifted.
Cyanobacteria can be dangerous to humans and lethal to animals that ingest it. The toxic algae does not affect the water supply, as Amesbury's water treatment plant has the means to remove it prior to distribution.
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