Lake swimming season should be A-OK

In recent years, “FOLKS”—Friends of Lake Keowee—has documented bacterial contamination threats from feeder streams into Lake Keowee, but they report good news when it comes to public and private beaches and swimming areas. That bodes well for another season of fun in the sun. The latest samplings, from the year 2015, measured and reported water quality at selected swimming spots, including the county parks and the Duke access areas. “These data revealed good news in that all the beach and swimming area results easily passed the SCDHEC EC (ecoli) recreational use standard.” Long-time water sampler Bob Swank, a former Oconee County resident now lives in Greenville, but remains a member of Friends of Lake Keowee. Swank would like to see interest from a new and younger generation in the quality of Lake Keowee which, in spite of a handful of troubled spots, remains one of the purest freshwater bodies in the U-S. He compares it favorably to Lake Tahoe, the lake bordering California and Nevada, with its sterling reputation for recreation and scenery.