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While this summer’s weather has been dreadful for swimmers, the conditions have been ripe for bacteria growth in area swimming areas.
High E.coli levels have been detected sporadically at Voyageur Provincial Park near Chute-à-Blondeau over the last few weeks. Two swimming areas at the park, which has four beaches on the shore of the Ottawa River, were closed temporarily when water samples showed high E.coli levels, relates superintendent Darryl White.
“We test all our beaches once a week. When levels are high, the beaches are posted. Once tests show that the levels have dropped, we re-open the beach,” says White.
Bacteria counts tend to rise when the water is warm and there is a lot of rainfall.
The Eastern Ontario Health Unit monitors the water of high-risk municipal beaches once a week throughout the operating season to ensure it does not go over normal bacteria levels. If bacteria levels exceed the safe swimming limit of 100 E. coli per 100 ml of water, a sign is posted advising people not to swim.
The list of closed beaches can be found at the www.eohu.on.ca web page.