Parks and Recreation Director Missy Orosz reopened the beach at Great Hollow Lake Saturday morning after a drop in E. coli levels made the water safe for swimming again.
“The latest results came back at 9:15 a.m. and the lake is cleared for normal activity,” Orosz said in an email to The Sun. “I posted on our Facebook page and our information line.”
A cardboard sign that says, “Lake Closed” on the gate to the beach at Great Hollow Lake greeted visitors Friday, along with a notice informing them the lake was closed to swimming due to elevated levels of bacteria, likely caused by the heavy rainstorms earlier in the week.
Orosz said it was the first time the lake had to be closed all summer.
The water is routinely tested for E. coli bacteria every Wednesday by Aqua Environmental, a Newtown firm, with assistance from the Monroe Health Department. Orosz said the town receives the results on Thursday afternoons.
“The results were not alarming, but it exceeded the standards set by the Connecticut Department of Health,” First Selectman Ken Kellogg said Friday. “The safety of the patrons is the number one priority — always.”
Orosz said the lake was closed to swimming since Thursday afternoon.
“The water was tested again this afternoon and we’ll know tomorrow,” she said Friday. “We hope to be able to reopen the beach.”
Orosz said residents could find out if the beach was open again Saturday by checking the Parks and Recreation Department’s Facebook page or by calling its cancelation information line at 203-339-6106.
