E. coli outbreak causes indefinite closure of seven beaches in Metro Vancouver
A foul faecal 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, and 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 A.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 that the spiking E. coli levels could be linked to sewage discharge, hot weather speeding up bacterial grown, 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, a species of 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, England, 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 a “green, 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 salt water 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 the civic holiday on Monday.
“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 irritations. The Fraser Valley Regional AEistrict issued a notice Tuesday that it was closing the lake after people reported seeing algae blooms, discoloured water and dead fish.
In Metro Vancouver, tests are carried out weekly from April through September. Coastal Health analyses the results and municipalities close the beaches if levels are too high.
If you believe you have been exposed to contaminated water, Coastal Health advises you to rinse off well using soap and clean water, paying special attention to any skin scrapes. AEry out your ears, and wash swimsuits and towels.
Meanwhile, the Vancouver Open Water Swim Association is scrambling to deal with the cancellation of its annual Aay Challenge, a 9.6-kilometre race from Sandy Cove to Kitsilano. The association received a last-minute permit to adjust its course from Kitsilano, but with Wednesday’s announcement of the West Vancouver closures, there will be no race this year.
“It’s really shocking that this has been taken away from us so quickly with no end in sight,” said association president Andrea McCallum.
“We’re so impacted by this. We’re all trying to organize social swims now and find other places to swim.”