Peterborough Public Health to Resume Beach Water Testing
/Just in time for the summer, Peterborough Public Health (PPH) has resumed beach water testing for Curve Lake and Hiawatha First Nations, in the County and City of Peterborough.
File Photo.
Regular testing ensures water quality conditions are safe for recreational use.
“PPH staff complete beach water testing regularly throughout the summer months,” said Julie Bromley, PPH chief building official and manager of environmental health. This program is important to monitor the water quality of our public beaches and ensure that beaches with high bacterial counts are posted so that people can be aware and make informed choices.”
The routine surveillance program for all public beaches runs from early June until the end of August.
The following beaches are sampled daily, Monday to Friday:
Beavermead Park (2011 Ashburnham Dr., Peterborough)
Rogers Cove (131 Maria St., Peterborough)
Most public beaches in the county are sampled at least once a week, including:
Buckhorn Beach (12 John St., Buckhorn)
Crowe’s Line Beach (240 Crowe’s Line Rd., Trent Lakes)
Curve Lake Henry’s Gumming (150 Chemong St. S., Curve Lake)
Curve Lake Lime Kiln Park (150 Whetung St. E., Curve Lake)
Douro North Park (251 Douro Second Line, Douro-Dummer)
Ennismore Waterfront Park (1053 Ennis Rd., Ennismore)
Hiawatha Park (1 Lakeshore Rd., Hiawatha)
Jones Beach (908 Jones Beach Rd., Bridgenorth)
Lakefield Park (100 Hague Blvd., Lakefield)
Norwood Beachat Mill Pond (12 Belmont St., Norwood)
Sandy Beach(1239 Lakehurst Rd., Buckhorn)
Selwyn BeachConservation Area (2251 Birch Island Rd., Selwyn)
Squirrel Creek Conservation Area (2445 Wallace Point Rd., South Monaghan)
Warsaw Caves Conservation Area (289 Caves Rd., Warsaw)
The following public beaches are samples once a month from June to August:
Chandos Beach (2800 County Road/Hwy 620, North Kawartha)
Quarry Bay (1986 Northey’s Bay Rd., Woodview)
Belmont Lake (376 Miles of Memories Rd., Belmont)
Kasshabog Lake (431 Peninsula Rd., Havelock)
White’s Beach (26 Clearview Dr., Trent Lakes)
PPH says the following factors may result in high levels of bacteria or other conditions that cause the beach to be unsafe for swimming between sampling periods:
Heavy rainfall
Large numbers of waterfowl
Harmful algae blooms
High winds or wave activity
Large numbers of swimmers
Water samples are submitted to the Public Health Laboratory for bacteriological analysis. They are tested for E. coli which indicates fecal contamination in the water. It takes approximately 24 hours for PPH to receive and analyze the lab's water quality results.
“Swimming in water with high levels of E. coli bacteria can result in illness with unpleasant symptoms like abdominal cramps diarrhea and vomiting,” said Bromley. “Certain groups groups, particularly young children are at risk of more severe illness so if you see a beach that is posted for high-bacterial counts, it's best not to swim there.
If bacteria levels exceed recommended thresholds for recreational water use, the beach will be posted as unsafe and people should not swim there to avoid becoming ill according to PPH. A beach may be closed to the public if a significant risk to human health is identified, such as a toxic spill or a harmful algae bloom.
PPH has provided ways to help ensure the water quality stays safe:
Do not feed waterfowl
Do not let children swim in soiled diapers
Pick up your garbage
Clean up after your pets
