Beach Management - 2011

Bacteriological Quality

Ontario’s Health Units are required to sample the water at public beaches in their jurisdiction.

Recreational water that is of a poor bacteriological quality can cause infections and disease such as gastrointestinal illness. Samples are taken weekly during the bathing season (June, July and August) and tested at the Public Health Laboratory for E-Coli.

E-Coli are a group of bacteria that originates from the faeces of animals and people and indicates recent contamination. It is normal to find low levels of E-Coli in surface water, but high levels can indicate a problem.

As we have sampled beaches in Grey and Bruce for a number of years, we have been able to build up a historic picture of the recreational water quality in this area. The quality of beach water in Grey and Bruce is generally of a very high standard. Typical results are well below the Provincial limit of 100 E-Coli colony counts per 100ml water.

As much of the coastline around Grey and Bruce counties has little development and low population density (for Southern Ontario) the usual cause of higher levels are natural weather-related factors. This makes it possible to make generalized predictions about recreational water quality based on recent weather patterns.

Occasionally higher levels have been found. These “gross contamination events” may also be indirectly caused by extreme weather events such as very heavy rain falls causing sewage by-pass incidents. Due to the bacterial levels following these events they are of more concern.

The Grey Bruce Health Unit assesses environmental factors, such as recent weather patterns and the 5 year historic results, to decide when to post a beach as unsafe. Results that cannot be explained by these environmental factors or evidence of gross contamination will cause us to post a beach as unsafe. Other factors, such as a major fish die-off or spill, would also cause us to post a beach as unsafe.

Also see Prediction of Beach Water Quality

View current beach postings

Beach Water Safety

In addition to bacteriological quality, the safety of recreational water should be considered before deciding to swim. Some parts of the coastline around Grey and Bruce can experience powerful waves and currents. For more information, please visit the Lifesaving Society website.