A year after an E. coli outbreak sickened four children at Bidwell Park’s Sycamore Pool, elevated bacteria levels are prompting warnings about swimming there.
But current testing can’t determine whether the dangerous strain linked to last summer’s illnesses is in the water.
A water sample taken Monday, Aug. 3, showed E. coli levels above what the City of Chico considers safe for swimming.
The city has posted “no swim” signs at Sycamore Pool and is recommending people stay out of the water until conditions improve.
The city’s regular testing measures general E. coli, not the O157 strain linked to last summer’s outbreak, Lisa Almaguer, a spokesperson for Butte County Public Health, said in an email. Detecting O157 requires separate testing.
The county conducted testing for O157 for a period following last summer’s outbreak but stopped this year after several rounds of negative results. Almaguer said the county does not plan to restart O157 testing based on the elevated E. coli levels alone.
The latest results come as four families are suing the city over last summer’s outbreak. The lawsuit alleges the city failed to adequately test the water and protect swimmers before the children became sick.
So far, the county has not received any reports of people becoming sick after visiting the pool, Almaguer said. Reports of illness could prompt further investigation.
Most E. coli is not harmful on its own, Almaguer said, but elevated levels can indicate the presence of other bacteria, viruses or parasites that can make swimmers sick.Almaguer encouraged the public to follow the city’s no swimming guidance.
