E. coli, flooding close Lake in the Hills beaches

Don't get in the water.

Officials have shut down both beaches in Lake in the Hills, but for different reasons.

Incessant rain resulted in flooding at Indian Trail Beach, leading officials to close it Monday for safety reasons, said Trudy Wakeman, director of the village's parks and recreation department.

Butch Hagele Beach, also known as Hilltop Beach, remained closed Monday because of high E. coli levels. It had been shut down since last week, Wakeman said.

The McHenry County Health Department closes beaches when levels in both shallow and deep water exceed 235 colony forming units of E. coli per 100 milliliters of water, according to its Web site.

Beaches remain closed until E. coli is back to an acceptable level of 126 units in both shallow and deep water.

According to the health department Web site, the Hagele E. coli counts were:

• Thursday, 291 units in shallow water and 308 in deep.

• Friday, 411 in shallow, 185 in deep.

• Saturday, 179 in shallow, 101 units in deep.

Indian Trail Beach is expected to reopen once the waters recede.

Both beaches sit on Woods Creek Lake, the site of this Saturday's Splish Splash 5K dash that in past years has drawn more than 200 participants.

If Hagele Beach remains closed, officials will reschedule the popular event for Aug. 2, Wakeman said, noting the rain date appears more likely.

"We don't want people in there if they're going to get sick," she said. "So we play it safe."