Health units won’t test GRCA beaches for bacteria
CAMBRIDGE — The nine beaches operated by the Grand River Conservation Authority will no longer be tested by public health units for high fecal coliform counts.
Instead, the health units and the conservation authority will work to provide the public with better information so that people can make informed decisions about when the water is safe to swim in.
Tens of thousands of people enjoy the conservation authority beaches every summer, but it will soon be up to them to inform themselves about whether the water is safe.
The authority operates beaches at Shade’s Mill in Cambridge, Rockwood, Pinehurst Lake near Paris, Laurel Creek in Waterloo, Guelph Lake, Elora Quarry and Elora Gorge, Belwood Lake in Fergus and Conestogo Lake near Drayton.
Under a system that’s been operating for decades, three health units in Waterloo Region, Brant County and Wellington-Dufferin Guelph have sampled the water at those beaches weekly from late May to Labour Day.
But the health units recently met with the conservation authority to say they thought the system needed to be changed. Authority staff informed the conservation authority board of the change at its meeting Friday.
The health units recommended the change, saying posting a notice when beaches have high bacteria counts relies on data that isn’t timely, since samples take up to two days to get processed and beach conditions can change in the meanwhile.
As well, the province’s public health standards say health units must sample the water at public beaches, which are defined as “a public bathing area owned and operated by a municipality.” Since the conservation authority isn’t a municipality, its beaches aren’t
considered municipal public beaches and don’t fall under the health unit’s mandate.
“I just have some grave concerns about this,” said GRCA board member Geoff Lorentz, who is also a Waterloo Region councillor and chair of the region’s community services committee, which oversees public health.
“It seems to me that with the risk of waterborne illness, especially for young children, we should be overcautious,” Lorentz said. “Just putting up a sign that says ‘Swim at your own risk’ just doesn’t cut it.”
But Waterloo regional councillor and authority board member Elizabeth Clarke disagreed. “In the absence of real-time, reliable testing, I think this is a much safer thing to do,” she said.
Lab results can take up to two days to come in, and conditions on a lake can change quickly, so that it doesn’t make sense to rely on possibly outdated information in deciding whether to post a warning at the beach that the water may not be safe to swim in, said Aldo Franco, manager of health protection and investigation at Region of Waterloo Public Health.
Under that system, the conservation authority didn’t close beaches, but posted a warning when E. coli levels were higher than recommended. High bacteria levels can increase the risk of developing infections. The most common are minor infections of the skin, eye, nose and throat, and stomach disorders.
“We feel providing the education is being proactive. Relying on a sample is reactive,” Franco said. “There could be a false sense of security, relying on a sample that’s a day or two old, when there could have been conditions changed and we haven’t posted.”
A body of water like a lake or reservoir “is very dynamic. It’s not like a swimming pool where it’s contained and there’s chemicals,” Franco said.
Under the proposed system, each beach would have permanent signage outlining conditions that might indicate the beach isn’t safe for swimming: a heavy rainfall within the last 48 hours, water so cloudy you can’t see your feet when you stand in it, a very windy day when waves are high, or lots of bird poop on the beach. The conservation authority and the health unit would also provide guidelines online.
Health units and conservation authorities across the province vary in how they handle beach safety, said Sandra Cooke, senior water quality supervisor with the conservation authority. Some health units do no testing, while others test every day.
The change won’t save money, Franco said, since testing was simply carried out under existing water safety programs.
The change is intended to be in place for the start of this year’s swimming season, Franco said. But the conservation authority board asked for a more detailed report about the change, which it will consider at its next board meeting June 23.