Chico >> Despite rumors swirling and comments made to swimmers at Sycamore Pool, the city’s most famous water feature is safe for swimming, park officials say.

This week, allegations surfaced about infections a swimmer allegedly contracted after swimming in the concrete pool built into Big Chico Creek at One-Mile Recreation Area. But Park and Natural Resource Manager Dan Efseaff said Friday that no other infections have been reported and repeated testing of the water shows it does not reach thresholds for unsafe water.

“Even if our criteria are not exceeded, the flow of water is pretty darn low. The pool may close early this year, and it may have more to do with aesthetics and pleasantness of the water rather than public health,” he said. “Just because there is green stuff doesn’t mean it is unhealthy.”

The city checks the pool weekly for coliform bacteria and cloudiness to ensure public safety and protect the creek. The alleged infection was not reported to park staff but they heard about it indirectly, which prompted a second sampling of the water this week.

“We heard about it through the grapevine,” Efseaff said. “We always need that information because if we don’t know about it, how can we respond appropriately?”

Result that returned Friday showed the levels of fecal coliform were at 350 organisms per 100 milliliters. The test from earlier in the week was at the exact same level.

City procedure calls to retest if the weekly fecal coliform results show levels of 500 organisms per 100 milliliters or higher. If the level upon retesting is 5,000 organisms per 100 milliliters or higher, which has not happened in at least five years, it would trigger a pool closure and public notification.

“A regular pool you would go in there and throw in chlorine and shock the pool,” Efseaff said. “But this is the creek, so we don’t have any natural means of doing that.”

Coliform exist in any natural body of water, be it a creek, a river, a pond or a lake, he said. The presence of fecal coliform is what could present a health risk and what the city tracks.

Relative risk to any bacteria may be lower when water flows are higher and temperatures are cooler, but people should always take appropriate precautions. Efseaff reminds people that regardless of where they are swimming, to not get water in their eyes or mouth, and to hold off on exposing open cuts and sores. It’s also a good idea to rinse off after.

Sycamore Pool has more than 30 years of data collected, and its weekly coliform testing far exceeds state requirements. In the last five years, it has never had to close for water quality but it has closed due to air quality and excessive heat.

If an obvious source of contamination was present, the city wouldn’t wait for sample results to close the pool, Efseaff said. But it otherwise relies on the weekly testing, and rangers and lifeguards to report what they witness in the pool.

“Our lifeguards are in the pool every day,” he said. “And if there is a pathogen in the pool, it may show up with them before it does with the public.”

Due to the drought, the pool is being cleaned every other week instead of weekly. Crews divert the creek flow under the pool surface, and run a street brush and pressure washers to break up algae that collects on the concrete surface. The creek is then redirected to naturally refill the pool.

“It’s almost a misnomer when we say we are cleaning, because we are moving the algae and the slip hazard, but it’s not like we clean it and put purified water that is bacteria free,” Efseaff said. “It’s living water.”

Current water flow rates are unavailable, as the flow has dropped below the measuring device upstream. Efseaff however, estimates the creek is flowing at about 10 cubic feet per second, compared to a summer baseline of 17 cfs. Flow rates normally not seen until autumn were experienced this spring, and the flow now is below even the lowest levels normally seen.

Even if closures are instituted, whether for a public health reason or due to low water flow, because Sycamore Pool and Big Chico Creek is a public body of water, the public can still make its own decision and continue swimming upstream, downstream or anywhere else, Efseaff said.

Contact reporter Ashley Gebb at 896-7768.