Weekly Water Watch
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During the summer summer recreation season, our Weekly Water Watch e-newsletter provides updates on E. coli and microcystin beach advisories, important water quality news, and water-related events across the state.
Check back for updated beach advisories each week (disponible en Español) or sign up for the newsletter to get them in your inbox.
Read the latest issue of Weekly Water Watch for a list of current beach advisories.
Learn more about beach monitoring.
Beaches are updated each Friday with advisories Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day.
No advisories
E. coli advisory
Microcystin advisory
E. coli and microcystin advisories
Exceeds state advisory threshold for E. coli (what does this mean?)
Beach closed
2023 Weekly Water Watch Issues
| May 26, 2023 | June 2, 2023 | June 9, 2023 | June 16, 2023 |
| June 23, 2023 | June 30, 2023 | July 7, 2023 | July 14, 2023 |
| July 21, 2023 | July 28, 2023 | August 4, 2023 | August 11, 2023 |
| August 18, 2023 | August 25, 2023 | September 1, 2023 | September 8, 2023 |
Notable Statistics from Summer 2023
- Prior to this year, Brushy Creek only had two microcystin advisories in the last 17 years – one in 2013 and one in 2016.
- North Twin Lake East Beach experienced its first E. coli advisory since IEC began tracking advisories in 2014.
- Green Valley Lake, Honey Creek Resort Beach, and Lake Anita are now the only state public beaches monitored by the Iowa DNR that have never had an E. coli advisory.
- With 16 advisories, Lake Darling and Lower Pine Lake had the most combined advisories in 2023. Lake Darling had 8 E. coli advisories and 8 microcystin advisories. Lower Pine Lake had 15 E. coli advisories and 1 microcystin advisory.
- The state spent $12 million to restore Lake Darling from 2010-2014. Since it reopened in 2014, the lake has had 61 advisories for E. coli and 26 advisories for microcystin.
- Of the lakes monitored by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Lake Red Rock had the most beach advisories. Whitebreast and North Overlook Beaches had 8 and 6 E. coli advisories, respectively.
- Since 2014, Backbone has experienced the most E. coli advisories of all monitored beaches at 127.
- 22 state park beaches recorded swim advisories this summer. 15 state park beaches did not record an advisory.