Stay out of water at Accidental Beach, officials warn
Water quality varies so widely in the water off Accidental Beach that it can be hard to tell when it’s safe to swim.
The simplest solution, says a senior health official: don’t.
City and Alberta Health Services officials warned the public about risks associated with Accidental Beach Friday as the beach emerged from the North Saskatchewan River ahead of the long weekend.
While the beach can be enjoyed safely, officials said, there are debris hazards and contaminants in the water that can pose risks.
Dr. Christopher Sikora, medical officer of health for AHS’s Edmonton Zone, said the agency doesn’t monitor river water quality because it varies so greatly.
But there are often elevated levels of bacteria such as E. coli in the water, which can cause severe gastrointestinal illnesses.
“There’s really not a lot of use in monitoring the water quality from a microbiological perspective in that environment,” Sikora said. “We know it’s going to be variable. It might be OK in the morning, it might be OK a couple hours later, in the afternoon, it might (not be).”
“We think people should stay out of the water, shouldn’t participate in activities that really submerge the head and run the risk of inadvertently consuming river water,” he added.
The beach appeared near the city’s Cloverdale neighbourhood last year, helped along by LRT bridge construction that slowed down the river’s flow and deposited a layer of sand.
The city has since adopted an arm’s-length approach as it decides what to do with the beach.
Late last year, the North Saskatchewan Riverkeeper released the results of its own summer water quality monitoring project on the river. The study, which measured E. coli levels at four beaches including Accidental Beach, found that swimming was a coin toss.
Health Canada considers water with E. coli levels higher than 200 colony forming units per 100 mL of water to be high-risk for waterborne illness. Accidental Beach exceeded those levels on half the samples taken. The sandbar at the Fort Edmonton footbridge upstream passed all of its tests.
Water quality tended to be lower after rainstorms, which wash all manner of contaminants into outflows that flow to the river.
Other river risks include strong currents and submerged debris, Sikora added.
“I think anytime we enjoy time in our outdoor environment, we need to be aware of what those risks are,” he said. “Our job ... as Alberta Health Services is to inform people of what those risks are so they can take the appropriate steps to protect themselves.”