Harbour swimming dreams dashed — at least for now

Is it time to give up on the dream of safely swimming in Hamilton Harbour?

Based on the latest reporting from city public health authorities, the answer appears to be yes.

On Monday the board of health will receive a report that says that in spite of best efforts, work to make the city’s largest bayfront beach at Bayfront Park safe for swimming has failed.

It’s not for lack of trying. For years, successive attempts have been launched and been unsuccessful. The problem is high levels of bacterial pollution and toxic algae. The city has tried ways to stop birds from pooping in the water. It has tried ultrasonic waves to kill algae. Hydrogen peroxide to treat contaminated sand.

But in spite of all that, the beach has been continuously closed since 2016 and there is no indication things will be better going forward.

The bad news doesn’t stop there. The much smaller beach at Pier 4 Park, often referred to as Tugboat Park, isn’t much better. It was closed for the same reasons for 70 per cent of the season last year. Officials say if things don’t improve there this year, it will join Bayfront Park as being pretty much permanently closed.

Maybe it’s time to give up. The staff report recommends converting Bayfront beach into a wetland, or coming up with an alternative use that doesn’t involve swimming.

That suggestion may make sense in a strictly pragmatic way. But it’s going to be tough to swallow for city council, and for many of the thousands of Hamiltonians who have been enjoying the city’s waterfront renaissance and hoping swimming would be part of it at some point.

There’s an almost mystical appeal to being able to turn back the clock to the days when our urban waterfront was a summer getaway perfect for cooling off on hot summer days — before the ubiquity of air conditioning. Maybe it’s time to realize that’s just not in the cards.

There are options. One is to take apart the architecture at Bayfront beach, which rests between two curving rocky arms that jut out into the harbour. When these were built decades ago, apparently no one realized they could end up as bacteria and pollution traps that keep dirty water in the beach area that might otherwise be diluted if exposed to harbour currents.

But that could cost up to $5 million. City harbourfront development manager Gavin Norman accurately captures the main question about that option: “We know there is interest in having a beach at Bayfront. But is there $5 million worth of interest?”

That’s the question. Just how big a priority are swimmable beaches? It will be interesting to hear how city council handles that question when the report reaches them.

In the context of Hamilton’s overall waterfront revival, maybe swimming isn’t that important. We have fantastic access to two great urban parks, and more coming with development at Pier 8. A part of the city that was closed off to its citizens for decades is now an invaluable public asset, enjoyed by hundreds of thousands every year. Beaches along Lake Ontario — Confederation Park and points east — are open for public use.

It’s hard to put the dream of swimming in the harbour to rest, but perhaps it’s time.

The city has tried ways to stop birds from pooping in the water. It has tried ultrasonic waves to kill algae. Hydrogen peroxide to treat contaminated sand.