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A year after it opened, opponents of Petrie Island Beach—which cost Ottawa taxpayers more than $2 million and sparked much debate—appear to be right: The water is too dirty.
The beach, which has been closed since Aug. 1, was open for only 11 days since June 28 due to high E. coli counts.
“I’m obviously concerned about the water quality,” said Rob Jellett, councillor for Cumberland Ward.
“All the east-end councillors have met and discussed it. We don’t know what it is, but let’s get to the bottom of it and fix it.”
Petrie Island Beach has been closed significantly more often than other city beaches this summer. In July, it was open only 10 days, while Mooney’s Bay was open for 24 days and Westboro Beach was open 22 days. Britannia Beach was open all month and has been since the first recorded day of testing this year—June 16.
Beaches are closed for swimming when bacteria levels reach more than 200 E. coli per 100 millilitres of water tested or 100 E. coli per 100 millilitres of water tested over two consecutive days.
The results, listed on the city of Ottawa website, come five years after a memo from the city’s health department during the planning stages for Petrie Island Beach warned there would be water quality problems. At the time, Jean-Guy Albert, acting manager of the health protection division, wrote that “the water does not meet provincial swimming guidelines a good deal of the time.”
While it spurred debate on the merits of investing in a beach with bad water, plans for the beach and park went ahead.
The project involved the development of a set of islands near the south bank of the Ottawa River. A beach with changing facilities and a picnic and recreation area was created, and most of the wetland left intact.
The project cost about $2 million over several years, with more work—including the construction of a canteen and lifeguard station—to be finished this fall.
Early on, it was discovered that an area southwest of the beach had been a dump, known as the “Vanier landfill.”
However, Ottawa-Orleans MPP Phil McNeely, one of the beach’s biggest promoters, said an environmental assessment of the area turned up no problems.
But Knoxdale-Merivale Ward Councillor Gord Hunter, who voted against the project, was not surprised by the high bacteria levels at the beach.
“It was a risky venture because when you get seasons with a lot of rainfall, pollutants are washed into the sewers and then discharge into the Ottawa River, and eventually find their way flowing past Petrie Island,” he said.
“The studies predicted it. I recognize that the community had an overwhelming desire to use that facility and their vote won the day. But they knew at the time they were doing it with risks, that there were going to be days when it was going to be closed.”
Orleans Councillor Bob Monette, who represents the ward where the island is located, called it “the nicest beach in Ottawa,” and said the city will take quick action to determine the cause of the high E-coli levels and reopen the beach.
“It’s been a disappointment to residents, to myself, to council,” he said. “Last year, it was the beach that was open the most overall.”
He wants tests taken from Taylor and Bilberry creeks, as both flow into the Ottawa River close to Petrie Island.
“Is it possible that there’s overflow coming from those streams causing the E-coli to be so high? We will be analysing that and see what happens.”
He also questioned the methods used to test the water. “When they’re doing the counts, are they doing it the proper way?” he said. “I’ve had reports where they go ankle-deep and take the sample that way. For a good count, you usually have to go at least waist-deep, and take different depths to see what the water’s like.”
He is also looking at the possibility of using netting to counter the rising number of gulls, a key source of contamination at the beaches. This was done at Britannia Beach, and dramatically improved the quality of the water, Mr. Jellett said.
“We’ve had to put gull netting up at other city beaches to prevent them from fouling the water, so we may have to do the same here,” he said. “Britannia was a terrible beach until we put the gull netting in; now it’s one of the best.”
But Mr. Hunter said there are other factors that affect water contamination.
“Basically, we’re at the mercy of the weather,” he said. “Water will wash pollutants into the river. We’ve just got to count the great days they’ve had when they have them.”
He said he didn’t support the project because it was a “bad investment.”
“It’s downstream from a large municipality, and although we’re doing our best with new subdivisions, there are a lot of places in Ottawa and Gatineau where storm water runs into the river,” he said.
“When sanitary sewer discharges in downtown Ottawa are high, they overflow into storm sewers and overflow into the river directly without being treated.
“It was a risky thing to do, but it’s been done—so what are we going to do? Dig up the sand, and take away the pylons?”
Meanwhile, the polluted water didn’t stop residents from enjoying the summer sun yesterday.
Roger and Lyne Routhier made their first trip from their Orleans home to the beach yesterday, and they were impressed by the improvements to the waterfront.
Mr. Routhier said the city was in a “catch-22” position with Petrie Island Beach. They could have opted not to develop the area because of potentially bacteria-laden water, he said, but that would have left no area for residents to enjoy the waterfront.
Despite not being able to cool off in the river, the couple thought spending a day at the beach was better than sweating it out in the back yard. “At least here you’ve got a breeze,” Mrs. Routhier said.
Mr. Monette said this is simply “a bad summer,” and that when the water quality issues are resolved, Petrie Island Beach will be seen as a community treasure.
“We don’t have any other beach like it,” he said. “You’ve got everything right around that little island. The potential for tourism and residents is fantastic. It will be a beach that will be open for many years to come—we just have to figure out what is causing the problem right now.”