Lake Powhatan Closed
683 views · Published 31 July 2013 · 2:07 · Indexed 20 September 2026
Channel: WLOS News 13 · 2013 · News & Politics
Concerns over the safety of the water at a popular lake has it closed to fishing and swimming. Officials say both Lake Pohatan and the beach there will stay closed as long as bacterial levels stay high in the lake. Forest service officials say they test this lake frequently during the summer, and a test late last week showed high levels of fecal coliform bacteria in the water. That bacteria can make people sick, usually the symptoms are nausea and diarrhea. Officials closed the lake Saturday, disappointing some swimmers and campers. Fecal coliform is a bacteria that people and animals use to digest food and the contamination comes from waste. Dan Andrews, Lake Powhatan visitor, a lot of people come to the campground knowing there's a lake here they can go at, of course the number of people who come to the campground now has some affect on the lake. Experts test the lake weekly in the summer and will test it again Wednesday. Officials will decide Thursday whether to reopen the lake to swimmers. They blame the rise in the bacteria levels on the heavy rainfall we've had during July.By Sherrill BarberFollow Sherrill on Twitter @SherrillBarber _______________ Follow WLOS on social media: WLOS ABC 13 News on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/News13/ WLOS ABC 13 News on Twitter: https://twitter.com/WLOS_13 WLOS ABC 13 News on Instagram: https://instagram.com/wlos_13 Subscribe to WLOS on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ABC13Channel/?sub_confirmation=1 Listen to AnchorMOMS, the Podcast: https://wlos.com/news/anchormoms/anchormoms-the-podcast Watch more top local news stories: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kk8Ge6UXHJs&list=PLkVbaoT-aYbIvnEpR0Ct5QQQqYaORUSUH For all of the day’s top local and national news, visit http://www.wlos.com Watch our live newscasts and other live video at https://wlos.com/watch Have a news tip? Send it directly to us: Email us: [email protected] Call the Newsroom: 828.684.1340 WLOS ABC 13 News serves the Asheville, NC area and the rest of western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina. We keep our audience informed through local news, weather forecasts, traffic updates, notices of community events, sports and entertainment programming since 1954.
