Lake Wazee Open to the Public
Thursday, July 19th, 2012 -- 8:18 AM
-Lake Wazee is open to the public after being closed for the past week.Lake Wazee Beach was closed to allow natural elements such as warm weather and UV lighting from the sun to destroy human fecal contaminants in the water.
Christine Hovell, Jackson County Health Officer, states that testing completed on July 16 by USDA officials on Lake Wazee Beach water, identified that human fecal contaminants were no longer present and that the water is now safe for swimming.
An investigation began after the July 4th holiday, when an individual said they had gotten sick from swimming; over 200 people reported illness to the Health Department with symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, headache, nausea, stomachache, fever and body ache.
Testing by the Wisconsin State Lab of Hygiene on samples obtained from ill persons, identified Norovirus as the probable cause of the illness associated with Lake Wazee Beach.
Routine testing of Lake Wazee Beach throughout the summer each year shows that illness causing contaminants in the water have been practically non-existent.
This incident appears to be an isolated event related to human contamination in Beach Water.
Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.