Water activities in a reservoir popular with jet-skiers east of Ballarat have been suspended after high levels of bacteria were found.
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Southern Rural Water, which manages the Pykes Creek Reservoir, confirmed this afternoon that E.coli had been detected in the water earlier this week.
Signs telling swimmers to stay away from the water went up about 2pm on Tuesday.
E.coli is a type of bacteria that usually lives in the intestines of people and can cause diarrhoea, abdominal pain and fever.
Southern Rural Water said it would conduct further tests before a decision is made on whether to reopen the reservoir for water activities.
The authrority released the following statement this afternoon:
We have not closed the facilities, but have restricted people from any water activities temporarily while we await the outcome of further testing. This includes boating, fishing and swimming. The signs went up yesterday around 2pm.
Testing is usually done weekly and elevated levels of E.coli were detected. The levels of bacteria often fluctuate and typically dissipate quickly. We decided to temporarily close the reservoir for water activities and take further tests.
We increased the frequency and location of testing to better understand the situation. Results received yesterday from one site indicated levels had returned to normal. We will wait until we have further location results returned (expected Thursday) before we decide when to lift the restrictions. We are keeping recreational users informed on the Pykes Creek Reservoir Facebook page and our website. We have also informed any downstream customers.
We are carrying out further investigation to try to determine any factors that may have contributed to the elevated levels.