E. coli, bacteria threaten Berkeley Aquatic Park

The city is investigating storm drains in the southwest part of town to figure out the cause of the bacteria.

BERKELEY — The city is warning people to stay out of the water at Aquatic Park after test results showed dangerous amounts of bacteria E. coli and enterococci, and is investigating storm drains in the southwest part of town to figure out what caused it.

The problem first came to light in early August, when people started complaining about a strong smell at the 68-acre lake, said city spokesman Matthai Chakko. That prompted the city to test the water more frequently than the usual routine of once a month, and on Aug. 30, a test sample came back from the lab showing high levels of E. coli.

Though people don’t typically swim in the lake, it is used by the Berkeley Paddling and Rowing Club, jetski-riders, waterskiers, kayakers, paddle-boarders and the Waterside Workshop, a nonprofit housed at the park that offers youth job training and recreational programs. The city put up 20 signs warning people about the bacteria in the water and urging them not to go in while continuing sending water samples to labs for testing. They also started testing for enterococci — another bacteria which could cause disease — and found dangerous amounts.

The bacteria has repelled most people from the park. Elaine Baden, president of the Berkeley Paddling and Rowing Club, said before the issue, 50 to 80 members of the club would typically be rowing at the aquatic park on a weekend. Now only a handful of members still use the water; Baden said she hasn’t gone in since early August.

“It’s horrible, it’s disheartening, and it’s scary,” Baden said in an interview.

Baden and other members of the group have urged the city to move faster to fix the problem.

But the city still hasn’t figured out what’s causing the bacteria surge. Workers have started to investigate Strawberry Creek and 14 nearby storm drains and that feed into the park to find the source, Chakko said.

Baden said a member of the group took a video of one of the storm drain culverts that feed into the lake that was unusually flowing despite months of no rain.

“We know that something’s been discharged improperly, and now the city is finally starting to take action to try to track it down,” Baden said.

Some in the public have speculated that the high bacteria levels could be because of people dumping RV septic tanks into the storm drains. Chakko said that’s “among the possibilities we’re looking at.”

What could be exacerbating the problem are the aging “tide tubes” that carry water from the lake out to the bay with the tide. The tubes are in disrepair; in 2017, they clogged and caused the park to flood after a bout of heavy rain. The city has been aware of the problem for years and has allocated money toward getting them cleaned and fixed, but must first go through the long, bureaucratic process of getting the go-ahead from various state agencies such as Caltrans and the Bay Conservation and Development Commission.