Lake Samples

For over 50 years the
City of Columbia has been committed to providing public health services through its
Health Department.
These services prevent epidemics and the spread of disease, protect against environmental hazards, promote healthy behaviors, prevent injuries and illness, assure the quality and accessibility of health services and monitor the health of the population.

Water Quality of Local Lakes

During the summer months, water samples are collected from local natural bathing beaches. The Health Department's lab analyzes the water for fecal coliform and E. coli.

EPA Criteria for Freshwater Bathing (Full Body Contact) Recreational Water:

Based on a statistically sufficient number of samples (generally not less than 5 samples equally spaced over a 30-day period), the geometric mean of the indicated bacterial densities should not exceed one or the other of the following*:

Fecal coliform: 200 per 100 ml; or

E. coli: 126 per 100 ml

Water Analysis 2008

	per 100 ml	May	June	July	Aug
Cedar Lake	Fecal coliform	3	2	41
Cedar Lake	E. coli	2	15	39
Lake Cyrene	Fecal coliform	4	29	124	3
Lake Cyrene	E. coli	9	19	19	4
Fairview Lake	Fecal coliform	39	45	10
Fairview Lake	E. coli	17	29	30
Hillcreek Lake	Fecal coliform	6	12	9
Hillcreek Lake	E. coli	1	9	4
Hinkson Creek at Capen Park *	Fecal coliform	185	363	345
Hinkson Creek at Capen Park *	E. coli	108	189	124
E. Hulen Lake	Fecal coliform	27	173	644
E. Hulen Lake	E. coli per	19	103	258
W. Hulen Lake	Fecal coliform	206	160	~
W. Hulen Lake	E. coli	290	90	18
Katy Lake	Fecal coliform	0	92	2
Katy Lake	E. coli	0	13	2
Nifong Lake	Fecal coliform	X	X	X
Nifong Lake	E. coli	X	X	X
Quarry Lake	Fecal coliform	8	9	26
Quarry Lake	E. coli	5	30	13
Queen Ann Lake*	Fecal coliform	750	73	~	4
Queen Ann Lake*	E. coli	~	21	250	1
Shalimar Gardens	Fecal coliform	52	479	669
Shalimar Gardens	E. coli	49	330	194
Twin Lakes (boating area)	Fecal coliform	88	63	41
Twin Lakes (boating area)	E. coli	75	72	27
Flat Branch at Stadium Crossing*	Fecal coliform	310	407	479
Flat Branch at Stadium Crossing*	E. coli	275	410	488
Woodrail Lake	Fecal coliform	9	29	1
Woodrail Lake	E. coli	4	5	0

Queen Ann lake was resampled on August 5. 22 / 6

	per 100 ml	7/1	7/8	7/15	7/20	7/29	8/5	8/12
Stephen's Lake	Fecal coliform	140	287	30	205	129	29	12
Stephen's Lake	E. coli	13	30	42	61	31	9	10
Twin Lakes (diving area)	Fecal coliform	24	11	3	222	215	100	31
Twin Lakes (diving area)	E. coli	18	3	8	126	39	42	29
Twin Lakes (shallow area) *	Fecal coliform	19	15	98	546	203	114	256
Twin Lakes (shallow area) *	E. coli	13	20	21	630	46	65	51

*Lake samples that exceed the recommended limits are re-sampled for three consecutive weeks.

TNTC indicates Too Numerous To Count

~ indicates that the sample was unable to be read due to the overgrowth of another organism.

X indicates that the area is closed for the season.

Return to the Environmental Health Division Homepage or return to the Columbia/Boone County Health Department Homepage