Beach again safe for a dip

Swimming advisory at Kelowna beach lifted after just 1 day

Officials say it’s now safe to swim at a popular beach in Kelowna, only a day after they said people shouldn’t swim there.

A swimming advisory for Rotary Beach has been lifted, just in time for the Labour Day holiday weekend.

The swimming advisory was put in place and signs went up at the Lakeshore Road beach on Thursday, but the City of Kelowna said on Friday that tests now show the beach meets Canadian recreational water quality guidelines.

“Beach water quality can fluctuate due to a number of factors including lake currents, changing environmental factors, waterfowl, warm weather and swimmers which stirs up the lake bottom,” said Blair Stewart, city parks services manager, in a news release.

The advisory was put in place when bacterial counts measured higher than the standard of 200 E. coli per 100-millilitre sample.

Friday’s tests measured 60 E. coli per 100-millilitre sample.

City staff regularly test the water at beaches at City Park and Waterfront Park, and at Sarsons, Cedar Creek, Rotary, Boyce-Gyro and Strathcona parks.