State health officials removed warning signs at the Kohola Lagoon in Ko Olina on Friday afternoon after additional testing confirmed the water’s bacteria levels were back to normal.

Janice Okubo, state Health Department spokeswoman, said warning signs, which were posted Friday morning, were removed at 2 p.m.

The department had issued an advisory Thursday that there was a “water quality exceedance” of a bacteria called enterococci and warned that contact with the water could cause illness.

Okubo said in an email that the high bacteria levels were discovered after officials took routine samples of water Wednesday from the lagoon, which is near the Four Seasons Resort Oahu at Ko Olina and the Disney Aulani Resort.

Markus Owens, city Environmental Services spokesman, said in an email that the recent sewage spills in Ko Olina did not reach the shoreline.

Okubo said the high bacteria levels were likely due to natural causes. Sources of the bacteria can be humans, animals, birds, insects, decaying organic matter, soil, sediment and algae, she said.

KAUAI

2 men badly hurt in car crash

Two men are in critical condition after they were involved in a single-car crash in Lihue on Kauai early Friday.

At about 3 a.m., police said, a white Nissan sedan driven by a 27-year-old Lawai man was turning onto the eastbound lane of Kaumualii Highway from Nawiliwili Road. He lost control of his car and struck a utility pole along the highway fronting Burger King.

Police said the driver was taken to Wilcox Hospital, and his 23-year-old passenger, from Koloa, was flown to the Queen’s Medical Center.

Police said the Nissan sedan was “totaled” in the crash. Officers closed one lane on Nawiliwili Road to investigate and reopened the roadway at about 6 a.m.

Police are continuing their investigation.

2 postal offices might merge

Kauai’s first stand-alone post office building, which opened nearly 80 years ago, is facing closure.

The U.S. Postal Service confirmed the proposed closure Wednesday after a notice was posted in the lobby of the post office. The agency is considering a consolidation of the Lihue post office and another Postal Service facility nearby, the Garden Island reported.

Duke Gonzalez of USPS said that under the proposal all Lihue P.O. box customers would have their boxes moved to the new location, and addresses would remain the same.

No jobs would be lost, because employees would be transferred, although some residents have expressed uncertainity about the move. The proposal is open for public comment.