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Starting Saturday, life will be a beach across the city.
All four of Ottawa’s major public beaches—Britannia, Westboro, Mooney’s Bay and Petrie Island—will officially open to the public this weekend.
But before the season even begins, there are some mounting concerns over water quality.
Ottawa Public Health received the first water quality test results of the season yesterday, and all four city beaches were given the green light.
The city’s parks and recreation department issues a no-swim advisory if E. coli bacteria levels exceed provincial safety standards.
The bacteria can cause gastrointestinal disease, skin rashes, and throat and ear infections.
Last summer, there were 84 no-swim advisories at Ottawa public beaches, with more than half of those issued at Petrie Island.
The beach is located downstream from waste water treatment facilities serving both Ottawa and Gatineau.
“There are many sources that can contribute to bacterial counts,” said Jean-Guy Albert, Ottawa Public Health program manager. “It could be wild birds or animals that are close by. It could be runoff after heavy rains, it could also be heavy winds carrying contaminants from other areas. It’s hard to pinpoint.”
Public advisory committees have suggested to the city that illegal dumping upstream from Petrie Island may have been the source of contamination last year.
After last summer’s setback, OPH will now undergo aggressive DNA sampling in the beach’s water and sand to determine the exact source.
“We’ll try to determine the origin. Is it man, animal, is it birds?” said Albert.
Results will be made available by the end of the swimming season.
There have been success stories as well. After Britannia beach recorded 57 no-swim advisories in 2000, the numbers have been steadily declining. The swim area was closed for only one day in each of 2004 and 2005, and last year stayed open for the entire season.
“Britannia was extensively surveyed for years, and it was recommended that overhead netting be installed to keep the birds out,” said Albert. “Since then, we’ve seen the water quality increase tremendously.”
Ottawa Sun