ROGERS -- Three of four swim beaches at Beaver Lake closed just before Memorial Day weekend because of high E. coli bacteria levels opened Wednesday, according to the Army Corps of Engineers.
The Corps closed the areas May 24.
Closed swimming areas were Hickory Creek and Prairie Creek parks, the swim beach at Horseshoe Bend Day Use Area and the campers-only beach at Rocky Branch camping area.
The Horseshoe Bend Day Use Area remains closed because of high water, said spokeswoman Laurie Driver. The water level was 1,127.23 feet on Thursday, almost 6 feet higher than normal, Driver said.
"That's just a safety issue," she said of Horseshoe Bend. "Everything else is open."
Driver encouraged people who are on the lake to use life jackets because of the high water.
The cause of the elevated bacteria levels still isn't known and could range from runoff from recent heavy rain to a dense congregation of geese in those areas, Driver said.
The state Department of Health tests water samples from each swimming area every day, according to Driver. The closed areas opened after the department received two clear sample results in a row, Driver said.
There could be more swim beach closings in the future if high E. coli bacteria pop up again, she said.
Closing a swim beach doesn't mean the entire lake is also closed, Driver said.
Metro on 06/07/2019