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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The swimming beach at Watkins Mill State Park will remain closed due to water quality issues, according to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
The beach, which is located northeast of Kansas City in Clay County, will remain closed following the results of water samples taken Monday. Although the samples taken Monday at the park’s beach were within the single sample federal guidance, the geometric mean for the beach failed to meet the standard.
The water at all designated beaches in the state park system is sampled weekly during the recreational season by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to determine suitability for swimming. Water quality can be determined to be unsuitable for swimming based on either the single sample taken earlier in the week, or by the geometric mean, which is a mathematical value that takes into consideration results from the current week plus the results taken during the previous weeks.
The beach will reopen when subsequent sample results show the water at the beach has returned to Missouri State Parks and Department of Natural Resources standards. Samples will be taken again on Monday. The beach was closed for the first time this season on Aug. 8 and has remained closed since.
The sample test results indicate a snap shot of the water quality taken at the beaches at a specific time; however, a single sample does not provide an overall sense of the water quality in the lake where the beach is located.
The beaches at two parks, Lewis and Clark State Park in Buchanan County and Trail of Tears State Park, Cape Girardeau County, remain closed for maintenance unrelated to water quality. However, there are 12 state parks with designated swim beaches that remain open for the public to enjoy. Visit mostateparks.com for additional information.
Visitors to Missouri State Parks are able to sign up to receive free electronic notices about the status of state park beaches by visiting the department’s website at http://bit.ly/HlSnaG. In addition, visitors may continue to check the state park beach status on the department’s website at http://bit.ly/MoStateParksBeachStatus as well as mostateparks.com.
Missouri's state parks and historic sites offer something to suit everyone's taste - outdoor adventure, great scenery and a bit of history. With Missouri's 86 state parks and historic sites, the possibilities are boundless. For more information about Missouri State Parks, a division of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, visit mostateparks.com.
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