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Lake Mansfield Closes After Testing Shows Dangerous E. Coli Levels

A lake ringed by trees sits under a blue sky with wispy white clouds
Great Barrington land Conservancy
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https://www.gbland.org/
Lake Mansfield in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

The town of Great Barrington, Massachusetts has temporarily closed Lake Mansfield due to high levels of the E. coli bacteria. 

Great Barrington health agent Rebecca Jurczyk says regularly conducted testing revealed dangerous amounts of E. coli in the public lake.

“A lot of things can happen," she explained. "It could just be the heat, it could be waterfowl being in the water, or it could just be an error in the lab tests.”

Lake Mansfield will remain closed while additional tests are conducted, and will reopen once E. coli rates again reach safe levels for swimmers.

Josh Landes has been WAMC's Berkshire Bureau Chief since February 2018 after working at stations including WBGO Newark and WFMU East Orange. A passionate advocate for Berkshire County, Landes was raised in Pittsfield and attended Hampshire College in Amherst, receiving his bachelor's in Ethnomusicology and Radio Production. You can reach him at jlandes@wamc.org with questions, tips, and/or feedback.
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