Fresh lake swims are a staple of hot summers and something millions of people love and rely on to keep cool. But increasing instances of lakes being closed down due to toxic algae and bacteria has become concerning.
A Redditor posted a photo in the r/mildlyinfuriating thread that showed a "Health Alert" sign for a local lake beach. The sign indicated that in recent testing of the lake water, E. coli exceeded safe levels, and therefore the beach and lake were closed for swimming.
The Reddit poster explained that they noticed the sign after getting out of the water, and they were frustrated and concerned because the sign was not there when they went in. "Exited the water during my vacation only to find this freshly installed sign next to our spot (wasn't there when we went swimming)," the caption read.
E. coli is a "fecal coliform bacteria," meaning it comes from digestive systems of humans and animals, as per EWG. Unhealthy strains of E. coli can cause serious health problems, mostly related to the intestinal tract, and in severe cases can be deadly, as per the CDC.
E. coli in lakes is usually connected to the development of algal blooms. Toxic algae blooms occur in lakes most frequently from high levels of runoff from agriculture, which washes chemicals from pesticides into lakes and triggers eutrophication, reported EWG. When that agricultural runoff also includes traces of fecal waste from livestock, that can result in E. coli contamination within lakes with algae blooms.
Rising global temperatures has increased rainfall in certain regions of the world, including making rainfall more intense and likely to result in flash floods, according to Climate Central. This only exacerbates agricultural runoff into lakes. Fortunately, many efforts to reduce toxic algae blooms are in motion, including new algaecides and water pumps.
Commenters on the Reddit post shared their frustration with the health alert sign that was put up after people were already in the water.
"Oh man. Where is this?" asked one user.
"Sign refers to Vermont," and "Don't worry. I put on gloves before responding," joked a second user.
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