Cape Fair beach reopens after E. Coli levels come down

UPDATE 6/4/24 – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that the swim beach at the Cape Fair campground is back open after bacteria levels were tested in an acceptable range for reopening.

Original Story:

STONE COUNTY, Mo. — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have temporarily closed the swimming area at the Cape Fair campground for high levels of E. Coli bacteria.

“Around holiday weekends, we’re required by the county or the state to do an E. Coli test,” Public Affairs Specialist Jay Woods with the Corps of Engineers said. “The park rangers go out to all the swim beaches and they do samples and they turn everything [over] to the Stone County Department of Health and we were given information that E. coli levels were too high.”

Woods said it’s not uncommon and could be caused by various factors.

“Last week we had to close six beaches at Beaver Lake, and I think we had one closed at Blue Mountain Lake, this happens all the time,” Woods said. “It could be runoff. It could be geese waste, it really could be anything. We do have geese around the area and they come up to the beaches and leave a little present.”

As of now, until test results show a drop in the amount of bacteria, the swimming area remains closed.

“They took samples this morning. They’ve turned them into the health department and we’re waiting for results back,” Woods said.

OzarksFirst reached out to the Stone County Health Department about the effects of E. Coli exposure and was given this response:

“Some of the major concerns with E. Coli is that is has the potential to make people sick with diarrhea, fever, vomiting, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, and sepsis in worst cases.

People can get infected after ingesting contaminated food, drinking water, swimming in contaminated recreational water, as well as contact with animals, environments, or other people in rarer cases.

• Some people most likely to get infected are:
• Children younger than 5
• Adults 65 and older
• People with weakened immune systems
• International travelers

If anyone suspects they have been exposed to and experiencing any of the above symptoms, they should seek care from a medical physician.”

That closure has had different impacts on the guests at the Cape Fair campground.

OzarksFirst spoke to a family of three camping, who say they acknowledged the closure but decided to swim anyway.

OzarksFirst spoke to a mom and her four kids who had been swimming in the past day or so, but was unaware of the closure.

Camper LouAnn Wilson said she wasn’t aware of the closure and isn’t stepping foot in the water.

“Since it’s just me and my husband, my husband wouldn’t like to swim anyway, so we probably wouldn’t go ahead and swim it since it’s closed,” Wilson said. “If it opens [while we’re staying], we would probably do so.”

One issue Wilson and the mother camping with four children had an issue with, was the signage posted on the campground.

When OzarksFirst visited the campsite, the only signage observed at the swimming beached was what appears to be an 8.5″ x 11″ sign taped to a larger sign covered with campsite rules and safety tips.

“I think there should be bigger signs where people can really see,” Wilsons said. “That’s not very big sign. I had not noticed it until [OzarksFirst crews] were looking at it.”

Wood said that the sign is in addition to posts on social media and press releases to news agencies in the area and that if a ranger sees a camper in the water, they will inform them of the temporarily unsafe waters.

“We don’t have Rangers at the park 24/7,” Woods said.

Woods said once the water is safe to swim in, he stresses people take safety precautions when in the water.

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