CRYSTAL LAKE – On a recent Sunday, officials informed dozens of families who came to the entrance of Main Beach that they couldn’t swim there because of high bacteria levels.

Those who had lugged everything for a day at the beach were directed about a mile down the road to West Beach in Lakewood.

The swim ban, it turned out, wasn’t necessary. When the results of water samples taken Sunday morning came back Monday, they showed bacteria levels had fallen dramatically and were well within the safe range at the time swimmers were turned away.