Lake Jackson (Florala) Swimming Area

Lake Jackson in Florala reopens at 5 p.m. April 30 The large pavilion & pier remain closed. Distance!

Lake Jackson is a very clean lake. Like any water body bacteria levels increase during and immediately following rainfall that produces runoff. Sometimes following a dry period this increase can be a large increase. Over the past five years of so sampling has captured several such events. Followup sampling has shown that bacteria levels fall rapidly after such an event. The City of Florala has taken a number of steps to reduce polluted runoff at the beaches. Waterfowl numbers have been reduced, education has been done and will continue to reduce sources such as pet wastes.

These beaches at Lake Jackson in Florala are the only designated beach swimming areas in the watershed. The beaches have moderate to very heavy use. Historical data for the site is available at the Alabama Water Watch website http://www.alabamawaterwatch.org/ using the Site Code 04007032. Recently two additional site codes, 04007110 and 04007111 have been added for beaches/beach areas immediately adjacent to the east of the sampling site code 04007032 (04007010) and down the road further to the east (04007111).

The very clear water and the absence of significant tributary streams creates a lake that should have very low bacteria contamination levels unless there is a nearby nonpoint source of pollution. Control of waterfowl at the lake appears to be much improved and there is little chance of high bacteria levels except immediately following a large rain event.

Get directions to this beach

COVID-19

Keep your distance from other people.

Practicing social distancing is essential right now. Follow the advice of the health experts. If your community has asked that you remain indoors and away from others, do so. Heading to the beach should only be considered an option if social distancing practices can be followed. Spending a day in any crowded place is the worst thing we can do for our most vulnerable right now and will counter the efforts to curb the virus’ spread.

For more information, please visit the World Health Organization public resource on COVID-19.

Water Quality

Passed water quality tests 60-95% of the time
Historical Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on May 19th, 2020. Choctawhatchee Riverkeeper updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on May 21st, 2020 at 9:10 AM.

For water quality icon legend, click:

Current Weather

26°C

A mix of sun and clouds

Report Pollution

Monitoring Frequency

Source Information

The State of Alabama does not regularly monitor inland swimming areas/beaches. The monitoring is done by Choctawhatchee Riverkeeper and its volunteers at sites where there is significant recreational use. Monitoring is done using methods (the Coliscan EasyGel protocol) utilized by the Alabama Water Watch (AWW) program. The Alabama Water Watch program has submitted QA/QC plans that have been approved for first-alert monitoring by Region 4 of the U.S. EPA. AWW trains, certifies and periodically recertifies volunteer monitors.

Choctawhatchee Riverkeeper generally monitors sites in the Alabama portion of the river basin for E. coli from April to September. If resources allow these sites will at a minimum be monitored once prior to each major summer holiday. If additional resources are available and conditions allow, most sites will be monitored six times, once a month in April, May, June, July, August, September to check for contamination. Some sites will be monitored more frequently, typically weekly as part of an effort to get river segments use classification upgraded to include swimming and whole body contact recreation. All data will be posted in SWIM Guide. Sites that fail to meet water quality standards will be reported to the media county health departments, the local watershed management authority, posted to the blog on the Choctawhatchee Riverkeeper website and reported directly to members of Choctawhatchee Riverkeeper, the Wiregrass Canoe and Kayak Club and members of the SE Alabama Chapter of the Alabama Scenic River Trail.Sites that fail to meet water quality standards will be tested approximately once a week until they meet water quality standards. If they continue to fail to meet water quality standards, efforts will be made to post the sites as failing or have them posted. Sites that meet water quality standards in the early testing period will be tested prior to each major summer holiday. If at any point they fail to meet water quality standards, they will be tested as above.According to ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT WATER DIVISION – WATER QUALITY PROGRAM, for incidental water contact and whole body water-contact recreation, the bacterial quality of water is acceptable when a sanitary survey by the controlling health authorities reveals no source of dangerous pollution and when the geometric mean E. coli organism density does not exceed 126 colonies/100 ml nor exceed a maximum of 235 colonies/100 mL in any single sample in non-coastal waters.Our sites are GREEN when E. coli do not exceed a maximum of 235 colonies/100 ml in any single sample. Our sites are RED when the E. coli in a single sample exceeds a 235 colonies/100 mL in any single sample unless the sample is an outlier - for example it was taken in a first flush event or shortly after a significant runoff event.

Water Quality Graph