'Stay Out': Officials Say Better Safe Than Sorry When It Comes To E. Coli Beach Warnings

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Thomas Beach on Bde Maka Ska has been closed for more than three weeks over elevated levels of E. coli.

Yet you wouldn't know it based on looking at the water Wednesday. There were several swimmers in the water.

"There were no signs when we walked over this way," one beach-goer said.

There are a couple of "Temporary Beach Closure" signs near the lifeguard post and end of the beach, but the beach is not taped off and the parking lot is open.

So what are the risks of getting sick?

First, there are many different types of E. coli.

The Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board said you can likely blame the elevated E. coli levels on the rainy summer. Rain water can contain E. coli from humans, animals and other organic matter.

"There are hundreds of types of E. coli," epidemiologist Stephanie Gretsch, with the Minnesota Department of Health, said. "The kind of E. coli they're looking for in beach monitoring, it's a generic term so not [necessarily] the type that makes us sick, but it's indication there is fecal contamination in the water and there could be germs that can make us sick."

Second, you get sick from ingesting the bacteria or drinking the water. Third, test results for E. coli  levels take about a day.

"By the time we get the results the contamination might have already cleared up," Gretsch said.

But should you risk it?  Health experts say the point of a beach closure is to remind the public there is still a risk of getting very sick.  The closures are a precaution to be safe rather than sorry.

"If there is a beach advisory … you should stay out," Gretsch said.