Tests: Water safe for contact

ST. MARYS - Initial tests measuring microcystin levels at West Beach in Grand Lake St. Marys State Park show toxin levels are low enough to remove the "no contact" water advisory signs.

For now, however, the signs will remain as officials continue testing to ensure the results are consistent, park director Dave Faler said on Friday.

Three samples have been taken from West Beach's water since completion of the beach's renovation project, Faler said. Two samples showed microcystin levels below 6 micrograms per liter, low enough to remove the "no contact" signs at the beach.

However, due to the small amount of data, the signs will not be removed just yet, Faler said. Officials hope the results are due to the work done at the beach, but other timely factors, including recent rains, could be affecting the results. He said rains could be diluting the water and making levels lower than they might normally be.

"We don't want to jump the gun and remove the signs this late in the season… we want to do the right thing and get more data," he said.

Testing will continue for a few more weeks this year and will pick up again in 2020 to expand the dataset. According to Faler, Stephen Jacquemin of Wright State University-Lake Campus will eventually install an algae probe, which will allow live water-quality readings.

During the course of the West Beach Project, about 41,000 cubic yards of nutrient-rich sediment was removed from the 8 acres of lakebed in the beach area. The muck was replaced by a new sand base. The rock wall that had stretched around part of the mouth of the West Beach was extended to create a curtain; it doesn't completely cut off the beach from the lake, but the goal is to prevent large inflows of water and excess sediment. Aerators and diffusers also were installed.

At the start of the experimental project, officials had hoped the water would test either negative or below the state's no-contact threshold for cyanotoxin levels and that the beach would become a safe place for swimmers. Officials had done their homework on other heavily aerated areas of the lake, and had been hoping to see results.

"I expected change, but I didn't expect it so quickly," Faler said.

Nick Rentz, president of the Lake Improvement Association, said the project's being delayed due to bad weather earlier in the year was unfortunate as summer swimmers would not be able to take advantage of the results. The experiment was a big undertaking, he said, but it was based on science.

"Nobody has ever attempted a water-quality experiment quite this large, where you don't have a complete cutoff from the main body," Rentz said.

The initial results were promising, he continued, but it would take time before the water was confirmed to be completely healthy.

According to an Ohio Department of Natural Resources news release, the department will work with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to collect water-quality data from the beach and surrounding area.

"Initial results have been promising, but more data collection and evaluation of the entire beach system is needed," ODNR Director Mary Mertz said in the release. "We hope this project will help open Villa Nova West Beach to swimming in the future, and we look forward to next spring's ribbon cutting."