Lake Wheeler beach closed for second time in August

Raleigh, N.C. — Lake Wheeler in Raleigh is closed to recreational activities due to elevated levels of bacteria in the water. It is the second time this month that Wake County Environmental Services closed the beach.

Routine tests showed levels of enterococci, which can cause infections and lead to diarrhea, exceeded standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Enterococci is typically found in the digestive tracts and feces of warm-blooded animals.

Acceptable levels of enterococci should not exceed 60 colony forming units (cfu) per 100 milliliters. A recent test found 648.8 cfu.

Authorities closed the beach after a negative test on Aug. 6, only to reopen it Aug. 8.

The city already prohibits swimming at Lake Wheeler, but does normally allow fishing, water skiing, paddle boating and tubing.

The closure of the beach area does not restrict fishing on the lake, nor does it restrict waterskiing and tubing in the lake. The beach will be closed for primary contact activities such as kayaking, sunfish, sailboating and windsurfing.

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time4real
August 12, 2009 8:54 a.m.

question to whomever lives arnd Lake Wheeler... what is the source of sewage? and what are you doing about it if you live nearby? Dog & cat stuff doesn't pollute an entire lake; it must be either the city or a farm dumping massive amounts of waste in it. Someone needs to get to the bottom of this and fine someone's you know what for polluting the water. It doesn't stop with it not being viable for swimming...ground water is also contaminated in the surrounding areas. shame on someone!

kiediss
August 12, 2009 8:52 a.m.

where is the excessive animal waste coming from? are there lots of cats and dogs going swimming there? what spill are some of you referring to?

atozca
August 11, 2009 7:31 p.m.

We always ski at Harris Lake. I was just wondering. Does anyone test the water there? I have always been told that the only thing you could do on Lake Wheeler was fish and sail. I was also told that no skiing or tubing was allowed because it was a reservoir for drinking water. Not that I would want to go skiing there now.

robbincasino
August 11, 2009 7:03 p.m.

It's going to take a long time for eight-plus million gallons of raw human sewage to go away naturally out of a small lake. I think Lake Wheeler is on it's third year of digesting the massive spill. So sad to see a clean lake get polluted.

And to think that people are wanting to alter the filtering zones around Jordan Lake just to build their houses and make money off it's beauty. DON'T MESS WITH JORDAN LAKE. LET WHEELER BE AN EXAMPLE.