LEWIS COUNTY, MO. -- "I trust that it's safe today," says Josh Porter.
That's Josh Porter from Quincy who was enjoying Wakonda State Park near LaGrange Thursday.
Thursday was only the second time that lake has been open all summer.
The last time it was opened was June 23rd.
It's been closed every other weekend of the summer because of high bacteria levels.
KHQA headed over to see if anyone was enjoying it.
Josh Porter and Cara Winick came to Wakonda from Quincy. They usually come to this beach four or five times a summer. But this year, they haven't been able to.
"We like swimming and it's free, so we miss it a little bit," says Porter.
Cara says she enjoys getting outside and getting some exercise. This particular day they were both honing their frisbee skills.
"I hope they can get a hold of the problem and fix it for the rest of the summer," says Winick.
Those sentiments are echoed by Rosie Purvis of Hannibal. She was at the lake with her kid and some friends.
"Being a beach is even better because it's not like you can go to the ocean," says Purvis.
Plus, it's close to home. The kids can play in the water or on the sand, and for this weekend at least not worry about high levels of E. Coli bacteria.
"We would ask that the people be informed users of the lake. If there's a thunderstorm in the vicinity, give the lake a couple days to recover because there is a corrolation between thunderstorms or heavy rain and elevated bacteria levels.," says Judd Slivka with Missouri's DNR.
Judd Slivka with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources says that's the case for any body of water, not just Wakonda.
Samples are taken every Monday morning at lakes in Missouri State Parks.
We'll have to see if Wakonda can stay open.
By the way, the three beaches at Mark Twain Lake are still closed because of high water.
You can click here for a direct link to Missouri's DNR's State Beach status page.
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