E. coli found in waters near closed Thief River Falls beach

THIEF RIVER FALLS-High levels of E. coli found in the water near a Thief River Falls beach will keep the recreational area closed, but the incident shouldn't ruin plans to put a splash park there, the city's mayor said.

On Friday, the Thief River Falls Parks and Recreation Department closed Tindolph Beach at Bill LaFave Park after concerns of excess goose feces and stagnant water. Samples collected from the river near the beach showed high levels of the bacteria that can trigger complications in the digestive system, according to the department.

A test for blue green algae came back negative, but the E. coli levels far exceeded the standard set by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, said Corey Hanson, water quality coordinator for the Red Lake Watershed District.

One sample-all of them came from near the beach in 2-foot water-tested at the highest level measurable for an E. coli test, Hanson said.

"It was pretty high," he said of the samples.

Hanson will sample the river in more open water, but it's more likely the E. coli is due to a combination of stagnant water and excess waste from geese that have made their home at the beach, he said. That has made the beach unsafe for primary recreation during which an individual could ingest water, he said.

City leaders chose the beach as the location for a splash park project with the hope of revitalizing what some have called a neglected area. Thief River Falls was turned down for a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources grant to help fund the $287,100 project but will apply again next year, Mayor Brian Holmer said.

Proponents of the splash park also plan to raise funds for the project.

Geese wandered into the beach in recent years as a result of the area being neglected, Holmer said. The city is working with the DNR to deter geese populations.

"They basically said we are going to have to start with next spring and put up some kind of fencing to keep them out early in the year so they don't get in the habit of using the beach on a regular basis," he said.

The geese problem and E. coli discovery shouldn't affect plans to put a splash park at the beach, he added.

"It's just been a dry year, and we've had no runoff, so to speak, from any of the rains that go through," he said. "The current (in the river) has just been stagnant."

Hanson said he didn't know how long it would take to clear the water of E. coli or when the beach would be safe to reopen. The river must flush itself out.