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Ottawa Riverkeeper hosted a fishing derby at Westboro Beach yesterday under a red flag no-swimming advisory issued by the city.
E. coli counts topped 700 per 100 mL of water tested.
The city’s medical officer of health issues no-swimming advisories at city beaches if bacteria counts reach 200 on a single day or 100 on consecutive days.
While the advisory kept swimmers out of the water, Riverkeeper executive director Meredith Brown said the fundraiser was still a success.
More than 50 people registered, with prizes awarded to the top catch of the day.
Angler Mike Hodgson showed off a 14-inch bass he reeled in at about 6:30 a.m.
‘IT’S SCARY’
“I wouldn’t eat anything I caught out of here, that’s for sure,” he said. “And you do get a little concerned when you have to jump in the boat as well, because you do get a little wet.”
Beachgoers Johann Santerre and Josee Romain, both from Gatineau, had a last-minute change of heart when they arrived at Westboro, only to see the red flags flying.
“It’s scary to swim in Ottawa,” said Romain, who opted instead for a quick paddle in the river.
“I don’t know about the swim anymore, probably just a little bit of tanning,” added Santerre.
So far, the city’s four public beaches have combined for 48 no-swim advisories, and 23 of those have been issued at Westboro.
During last year’s dry summer, there were only 33 no-swim advisories, but Westboro accounted for two-thirds of them.
Yesterday, the water was again off-limits at three of the beaches, despite the recent spell of warm, dry weather.
“Westboro has beach closures quite often and we haven’t really figured out conclusively what it is,” said Brown.
“Here, you see a really high coliform count and we didn’t have any rain this morning, we didn’t have any rain last night, so it’s pretty interesting to study when and where the high counts are coming.”
BRITANNIA CLEANER
Only Britannia Beach, which lies upstream from the city’s urban and industrial centres, seems to have found some reprieve. The beach has been open for all but six days since 2003.
“When you go up and down the shore here (at Westboro), you count all the storm drains that run into the water, and they’re in the dozens,” said Hodgson. “That water has to go somewhere.”
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BEACH CLOSURES
Days Closed
Beach E. coli 2008 2007 2006
Britannia (224*) 1 3 0
Westboro (1000) 23 22 29
Mooney’s Bay (426) 5 2 10
Petrie Island (411) 19 6 45
Beaches in Aylmer, Gatineau and Hull have remained open all summer, with the exception of Parc du Lac-Beauchamp, which was closed for two days in July due to excessive rainfall. While Ottawa tests water samples daily, the City of Gatineau tests water once per month.
(C) Ottawa Sun