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MARQUETTE -- Monday, the city of Marquette explored some of the possible causes of the two recent beach closures due to an E. coli outbreak.

Marquette's South Beach was closed after a routine test revealed elevated levels of E. coli on July 20. One week later, North Beach in Marquette was also closed after tests revealed high E. coli levels.

The Marquette City Commission heard from Carl Lindquist of the Lake Superior Watershed Partnership as he explained some possible causes to the outbreaks.

"We're looking at all the factors right now on these two closures. A big one is the warmer water temperatures throughout Lake Superior, but that's coupled with a number of other things."

Officials also said that the high readings could be from South Beach's isolation and high concentrations of bird feces.

E. coli test results take up to 24 hours to finish. The city is now using new rapid tests that can be done in just three hours.

In other business, the commission also made good on its promise of matching funds for the Marquette Skate Plaza. They'll pay $75,000 to complete the project.