Will ‘holy grail’ help Bayfront Beach make a splash again?

Consultants trying hard to make it swimmable … but it’s those darn geese!

Goose poop and blue-green algae remain the primary culprits behind water troubles at Bayfront Beach. That’s according to a consultant’s report presented to the board of health on the feasibility of reviving the area as a swimmable beach.

Swimming safely in the harbour waters would be the “holy grail of restoration,” said Bay Area Restoration Council (BARC) executive director Chris McLaughlin.

“What a profound statement that would be, about what we are as a community.”

The man-made beach has long been unswimmable.

In 2015, the water was deemed unsafe for 78 per cent of the swimming season between Victoria Day and Labour Day — and last February it was closed indefinitely.

At that time, city councillors directed staff to investigate how the beach could be saved — or whether it’s time to give up on the idea once and for all. So what would it take? The report, based on findings by AECOM Canada Engineering Consultants, lists five immediate remedies, along with some longer-term large-scale beach makeover possibilities.

The majority of the short-term proposals focus on controlling the massive Canada geese population (and their bacteria-causing poop) down by the shore.

The public works department is already working on this, said waterfront project manager Gavin Norman — this strategy would just fine-tune those measures.

Things like growing the grass longer around the shore to deter the geese from hanging out there. Or better drainage along the beach, to divert their poop from washing into the water during rain showers.

“It’s just about how effective we’ve been, and I think what we’re saying is that we can be doing better at it,” Norman said Sunday.

Another proposed remedy is a pilot project that would involve using ultrasound technology to combat bluegreen algae in the water. Norman said that one is “a bit trickier,” because of outstanding environmental and technological considerations.

The problem is that the water at this beach — as well as the nearby Pier 4 beach — is shallow and stagnant.

“Nature didn’t put those beaches there,” McLaughlin said. “With Bayfront in particular, you don’t have the natural circulation of water in there — so that stagnant water can trap bacteria in the water, and also in the sand. So even if you get rid of the geese, you’re going to need to deal with the sand.”

He questions whether it’s the best spot for a beach — and worries that people will get hung up on it as the only option, because the harbour as a whole is not a write-off.

One of the interesting findings from the study is that if you go out a little farther, the deeper water beyond the shore is just fine. Deep-water swimming was cited in the report as an alternative option to beach access. Picture this: A scheduled barge takes swimmers out far enough from the shore that the water is clean.

Another proposed solution is to move the beach entirely, to a new spot with better water circulation, with more wind and waves. But Norman said that’s unlikely to happen, because it would cost millions of dollars.

The consultant’s report did not include any capital cost estimates. Those will come later, Norman said, in a separate report submitted to the public works committee.

“We didn’t even get ballpark figures,” Coun. Jason Farr said. “So it’s difficult to comment before we know (those).” But Norman said funds have already been designated for capital improvements to the waterfront area, and he doesn’t expect the proposed plan to exceed that budget.

Norman expects council to be supportive of the strategy outlined in the report.

And while Farr is anxious to see a dollar amount, he agrees.

“We have a mandate to bring people to the water’s edge. This is about bringing people to the water’s edge — and then actually getting them in the water.” Merulla, too, would love to see it happen. “Imagine the pride we’d have to one day say we remediated the water — to have people swimming and having picnics and not talking about the contamination.”