Regular tests planned at lake after bug scare
REGULAR water testing is to be carried out at Clevedon’s Marine Lake following the discovery of the bug E. coli in the water.
Volunteers at the Marine Lake Enthusiasts Society (Marlens) which manages the lake say they plan to introduce a more regular programme of testing - particularly during the summer - after the bacteria was found in the water earlier this month.
Bosses at the community led organisation also say they may look at introducing more regular lake drains when the weather is hot ahead of it being topped up by the high tides.
An emergency drain of the lake was carried out on Friday night after tests revealed higher than recommended levels of E coli for bathing under EU guidelines.
The drain was carried out by volunteers ahead of high tides at the weekend which refreshed the lake water.
People were advised not to swim in the lake until the water was refreshed. Tests have also been carried out on water from the beach by the lake which show that the water refilling the lake is safe to swim in.
Marlens chairman Joe Norman said: “We want to establish how the lake behaves throughout the year and particularly during the hot, summer months. We will be introducing a regular programme of testing.
“Currently the lake is refilled around once a month at each high tide which refreshes the water. The normal practice is to let the water from the estuary top up the lake and dilute what is in there already. However the tides do vary and we now plan to test the water more intensively over the summer. We are determined to keep the lake safe for all users.”
Mr Norman said there may be a further drain of the lake ahead of the high tide in August if the hot weather continued.
He said people were back swimming in Marine Lake after it was topped up with fresh water from the weekend’s high tide.
“Our advice is that the lake is now back to normal,” he said.
The Environment Agency takes regular water samples from the beach by the lake throughout the summer from May to September.