‘Unfortunate timing’ for E. coli outbreak
‘Bit of a shame’ as seven local beaches affected ahead of Pride, long weekend festivities
A foul fecal flow has left the shores of seven Vancouver-area beaches lined with disappointed swimmers with no end in sight to recent closures.
Three West Vancouver beaches are closed for swimming as well as four more in Vancouver due to E. coli outbreaks. Most strains of the gut-dwelling bacteria are harmless, but infections can come from drinking or swimming in contaminated water and can cause diarrhea, kidney failure or even death, according to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.
Whytecliff, Ambleside and Sandy Cove in West Vancouver and Sunset Beach, Kitsilano Beach, Kitsilano Point and Trout Lake in Vancouver are all affected. Vancouver Coastal Health warns the spiking E. coli levels could be linked to sewage discharge, hot weather speeding up bacterial growth, lack of tidal flush and increased human and animal activity on beaches.
“That’s a lot of beaches closed all at once, but not as bad as some years past,” said Dr. Mark Lysyshyn, a medical health officer for Vancouver Coastal Health. “In 2014, all five North Shore beaches were closed and a bunch in Vancouver.”
Wednesday afternoon at Kitsilano Beach, only a handful of beachgoers dared to venture past signs warning swimmers about the contaminated water. None swam, but a few waded knee deep.
Peter Portuondo of Vancouver brought his air mattress to the beach, but kept it out of the water. Last week, his swimming was thwarted by a “red tide” — noctiluca scintillas, an algal bloom associated with shellfish poisonings — and he’d hoped to get back in this week.
“I won’t go in until it clears up,” Portuondo said. “I warn all the kids and all the parents.”
Jon Cooper, visiting from London, played soccer with his two sons and some family friends on the water’s edge after lifeguards warned them about the E. coli.
Cooper said he hadn’t expected an outbreak in an “environmentally friendly city” like Vancouver.
“We were quite surprised,” he said. “It’s a bit of a shame.”
Elke Sundstrom, from Vancouver Island, said she prefers Kitsilano Beach to the beaches back home that lack lifeguards and outdoor seaside pools. Sundstrom said she tries to visit Kitsilano four days per week and will use its saltwater pool rather than risk infection.
“It (E. coli) does happen at all beaches on occasion,” she said. “I’m fine because I’ll simply go to the pool later.”
Lysyshyn said the closures may lead to even more disappointment this weekend, when thousands of people head to the beaches for Pride, fireworks and Monday’s civic holiday.
“It’s unfortunate timing,” Lysyshyn said. “We try to keep beaches closed for the shortest time possible. They’ll be open as soon as it’s safe to do so, but because we don’t know what causes these levels, we don’t know when the closures will be over.”
Hatzic Lake in the Fraser Valley has also been closed to swimmers following reports of nausea, stomach cramps, itchy skin and eye irritation. The Fraser Valley Regional District issued a notice Tuesday that it was closing the lake after people reported seeing algae blooms, discoloured water and dead fish.