The Allegheny National Forest has announced that the Kinzua Beach swim area has been reopened to the public.

The beach was temporarily closed Thursday to swimming due to higher than acceptable E. coli levels; however, the forest officials were notified Friday by the Department of Health that additional subsequent testing shows levels have returned to an acceptable level and the beach has been reopened.  

E. coli is a bacterium that comes from human or animal waste (such as Canada geese) and frequently occurs after periods of heavy rain when swimming areas are more likely to be flooded by runoff.

For additional information about E. coli, go to the Center for Disease Control’s website: http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/swimming/rwi/rwi-what.html