Hartford, Conn./WTIC Radio - A number of state swimming areas are closed as a result of high bacteria levels in the water.
Seven areas are off limits to swimming.
Bacteria readings tend to jump following periods of heavy rain.
Along the shoreline, Silver Sands State Park in Milford and Rocky Neck State Park in Niantic are closed to swimming.
Parks with lakes and ponds where swimming is off limits include Chatfield Hollow in Killingworth, Cockaponset State Forest in Chester, Day Pond in
Colchester, Indian Well in Shelton, and Wharton Brook in Wallingford.
The water in each area will be retested before the all clear is given to swimming again.
The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection says the bacteria aren't disease-causing pathogens "but are one of the tools used by public health and environmental protection authorities to evaluate the potential for contamination of waterbodies."