Fall is here and Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park in Renton is open for safe swimming.
On Thursday, Sept. 26, King County released its most recent bacteria testing results for the local lakes’ swimming beaches and Gene Coulon has the green light, just in time for the leaves to turn brown, yellow and red.
According to the King County website, water testing at Gene Coulon Beach — the most southern swimming beach in Lake Washington — shows that bacteria levels are low and no longer a danger for swimmers.
The latest results that were tested on Monday, Sept. 23 show that the three samples from the water at the beach had 220 bacteria, 63 bacteria and 65 bacteria per 100 milliliters of sample water.
When bacteria results are above 320 bacteria per 100 milliliters of sample water, that is when bacteria levels are considered high. If two of the three bacteria samples (labeled “Sample A”, “Sample B”and “Sample C”) are over the 320 bacteria/100 mL threshold, then the county will recommend the public to not swim in that water.
On Wednesday, Aug. 21, the reports had found that Gene Coulon had 360 bacteria per 100 milliliters of sample water, which led to the beach’s long end-of-summer closure.
The water at more than two dozen lake beaches that are popular swimming spots are regularly tested for bacteria every year from mid-May to mid-September. If water tests find high bacteria, it means that there are high levels of poop from people, pets, or wildlife in the water, which can carry germs that make people ill.
For more information on water quality in King County’s swimming beaches, visit kingcounty.gov/en/legacy/services/environment/water-and-land/lakes/swim-beaches.