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How gross are lakes to swim in?

Tenacious E_rivals41982

Tenacious E_rivals41982

Heisman
Dec 4, 2001
5,789
18,950
113
I wage a daily battle cleaning spiders and all manner of insects and leaves out of my pool. I have found a mouse or two over the years, and a frog/toad. Grosses me out, even in a chlorinated pool. Then I think of how many dead fish, bugs, turtles, snakes, etc there are in lakes, along with their poo and piss. Throw in run off especially here in Iowa. Yuck.
 
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tarheelbybirth1

tarheelbybirth1

Heisman
Jul 4, 2025
5,767
16,338
113
 
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TJ8869

TJ8869

All-American
Dec 16, 2022
2,684
5,189
113
I always laugh when someone says they’ll never swim in a public pool because little kids pee in the pool.

You do know that the fish and snakes and rats and beavers and otters and everything else that lives in rivers and lakes isn’t using designated bathroom facilities, right? And that’s before we even consider the industrial waste, raw sewage, and agricultural pollution that gets dumped into those rivers and lakes.

Also, a woman was recently attacked by a rabid otter while swimming in Lake Tahoe. F**k that. I’ll take my chances in the pool.
 
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Thefunksouljon

Thefunksouljon

All-Conference
Jan 26, 2004
1,917
3,562
113
RockyMtNole said:
I grew up swimming in lakes and drainage canals in Florida. I am amazed none of us got that brain-eating amoeba or any serious illness. Pretty sure I ingested a lot of fertilizer and other chemical runoff though…
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Same. And a ton of time at the beach. I don't remember red tide back in the day. Guess the increase and ongoing abuse of the natural environment as well as the growing population will continue to be observed. Natural Springs like Wakulla are still mostly safe.

Some steps have been made over the years. e.g. Congress passed the Ocean Dumping Ban Act, which specifically set a hard deadline making the ocean dumping of municipal sewage sludge and industrial waste illegal after December 31, 1991 . The NAVY had an expression, the solution to pollution is dilution. It only lasts so long.

I don't have problems with larger lakes or ones that get tested, but Im not drinking it.
 
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W

Wobmam Rulez!

All-American
Aug 4, 2025
4,667
7,238
113
Pools have filters and chemicals to make it "clean". Lakes and other large bodies of water do not. I'll choose a pool every time.
 
5

52317Hawk

All-Conference
Jul 3, 2025
1,309
1,466
113
Nothing like mowing the yard, getting in the boat, and hitting the beach on the mighty Mississippi.
 
fatpiggy

fatpiggy

Heisman
Aug 18, 2002
27,384
26,280
113
Lake life is the best life. Salt water gives you that dirty feeling and you have to rinse afterward anyway. Lake water ..... just take a bar of soap with you to the lake and that's your shower for the day. No sharks. No Jellyfish. No oyster beds. Don't have to worry about the tides.

We got people worried about otter pee in a lake with billions of gallons of water? C'mon people. Might as well be afraid of your own shadow.
 
Tenacious E_rivals41982

Tenacious E_rivals41982

Heisman
Dec 4, 2001
5,789
18,950
113
fatpiggy said:
Lake life is the best life. Salt water gives you that dirty feeling and you have to rinse afterward anyway. Lake water ..... just take a bar of soap with you to the lake and that's your shower for the day. No sharks. No Jellyfish. No oyster beds. Don't have to worry about the tides.

We got people worried about otter pee in a lake with billions of gallons of water? C'mon people. Might as well be afraid of your own shadow.
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Don’t you have gators in lakes? To that i say no thank you. But I grew up having a cottage on a lake in Wisconsin. Beautiful to look at and we swam and did water skiing and such. It’s just I was struck by the volume of spiders and bugs, and then thought how a square foot of a lake probably had more than the entire pool. Plus the poo and pee.
 
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fatpiggy

fatpiggy

Heisman
Aug 18, 2002
27,384
26,280
113
Tenacious E_rivals41982 said:
Don’t you have gators in lakes? To that insane no thank you. But I grew up having a cottage on a lake. Beautiful to look at and we swam and did water skiing and such. It’s just I was struck by the volume of spiders and bugs, and then thought how a square foot of a lake probably had more than the entire pool. Plus the poo and pee.
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Gators stop around mid state for the most part. I was referring to nice mountain lakes in the western part of our state.

It is amazing how much poop spiders can produce. They love the dark damp boat houses and when left be for a couple months can really produce some nasty poop in voluminous amounts.

I still view nice mountain lake water as diluted plenty enough to forget about animal poop. There are just vast amounts of water.
 
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PW Herman

PW Herman

All-Conference
Nov 13, 2007
2,663
4,145
113
TJ8869 said:
I always laugh when someone says they’ll never swim in a public pool because little kids pee in the pool.

You do know that the fish and snakes and rats and beavers and otters and everything else that lives in rivers and lakes isn’t using designated bathroom facilities, right? And that’s before we even consider the industrial waste, raw sewage, and agricultural pollution that gets dumped into those rivers and lakes.

Also, a woman was recently attacked by a rabid otter while swimming in Lake Tahoe. F**k that. I’ll take my chances in the pool.
Click to expand...

 
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NorthernHawkeye

NorthernHawkeye

All-Conference
Dec 23, 2007
2,823
3,907
113
NorthernHawkeye

NorthernHawkeye

All-Conference
Dec 23, 2007
2,823
3,907
113
Tenacious E_rivals41982

Tenacious E_rivals41982

Heisman
Dec 4, 2001
5,789
18,950
113
Last edited:
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bagdropper

bagdropper

All-American
Oct 17, 2002
15,484
8,363
113
NorthernHawkeye said:
Debra Morgan Dexter GIF
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No, I have my well water at my cabin tested every 2 years. I also have a friend whose career is in waste water management here in Iowa.

Go ahead, knock yourself out with drinking well water and swimming in our lakes. Do it say, over a lifetime and tell us all how your health turns out.
 
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NorthernHawkeye

NorthernHawkeye

All-Conference
Dec 23, 2007
2,823
3,907
113
bagdropper said:
No, I have my well water at my cabin tested every 2 years. I also have a friend whose career is in waste water management here in Iowa.

Go ahead, knock yourself out with drinking well water and swimming in our lakes. Do it say, over a lifetime and tell us all how your health turns out.
Click to expand...

Hard pass, even without the run off.
 
S

SeaPA

All-Conference
Dec 17, 2002
1,593
3,858
113
I've spent a lot of time swimming in lakes, rivers, and ponds throughout central FL, Georgia, and the Carolinas. I'm as normal, or abnormal, as anyone.
 
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