Several swim beaches on Beaver Lake are being closed ahead of the Memorial Day weekend due to high E. coli levels and debris, according to our news content partner 40/29 News.

Beaver Lake Chief Ranger Landon Thurman the E. coli bacteria comes from "warm-bodied animal waste."

"That could be from geese feces. We've had a lot of rain in the last couple weeks and so a lot of water has come into the lake," Thurman said. "But it's hard to say what's being washed in."

Thurman added that some areas of the lake are unsafe due to the rain making water levels higher than normal.

"The south end has a lot of debris, some are unsafe," he said. "We do also have some swim beaches that have picnic tables, fire rings, benches, etcetera that are submerged."

People can get E. coli by swallowing contaminated water said Fayetteville Health Officer Dr. Marti Sharkey.

"It doesn't take very much, but the key is that it has to be one of the dangerous strains," Sharkey said. "The good news is, most E. coli is not dangerous to us. Unfortunately, there are a few strains that can be deadly, especially for the very young and the very old. So we just have to be very careful."

The swim areas closed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers until further notice are:

• Dam Site Lake Campground
• Dam Site Lake Day Use Area
• Indian Creek
• Lost Bridge North
• Lost Bridge South
• Prairie Creek
• Rocky Branch Campground
• Rocky Branch Day Use Area
• War Eagle
• Hickory Creek
• Horseshoe Bend Day Use Area (Horseshoe Bend swim beach is open but only for registered guests of the campground)