The Brown County State Park will be open today and tomorrow for limited daytime activities a week after it was closed due to water supply problems.
The campgrounds, cabins and Abe Martin Lodge will remain closed through tonight and tomorrow, a release from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources states.
Those with reservations today and tomorrow for the campgrounds and Abe Martin Lodge have been contacted.
The park will be open today and tomorrow for activities like sightseeing, fishing and picnicking.
All pools, modern restrooms and drinking fountains will be closed.
Guests who plan to visit for permitted activities today should plan to bring their own drinking water. Vault toilets are available at multiple park locations.
No admission will be charged, but there will be staff at the gates, the release states.
The Nature Center and park office will also be open today, but the restrooms inside will be closed.
Some of the hiking trails will also be open, but mountain bike and horse trails are still closed as state park crews evaluate them for rain and high wind damage.
The state park was closed the afternoon of June 17 due to water supply issues following a heavy rainfall the weekend prior.
Sediment levels from the weekend’s rain were too high in Ogle Lake to allow for the production of “potable water,” a DNR press release stated last week.
Lake Ogle is the park’s main water source.
“Park staff continue to work closely with DNR’s Division of Engineering, consultants and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) to ensure that when the park fully reopens there is safe drinking water and water for all needed uses across the property,” a press release from this weekend states.
The release states that a portable treatment tank is being used to pre-filter sediment from water before it enters the park’s treatment facility.
“As this process continues and the park’s 100,000 gallon water storage tank refills, all lines must be charged and flushed. The park must submit two separate water samples for testing to an accredited lab. Both samples, drawn at least 24 hours apart, must meet required drinking water standards before overnight facilities, drinking water fountains, the restaurant and other facilities can reopen,” the release continues.
Closing the park’s overnight facilities beyond tonight will be evaluated as the lake conditions and rainfall are monitored along with receiving water test results.
