Water at Ottawa’s 4 public beaches will not be tested daily this summer

People swimming at Mooney's Bay on Monday, June 28, 2021. (Shaun Vardon/CTV News Ottawa)

Beachgoers will not be receiving daily updates on the water quality at Ottawa’s four public beaches this summer.

Ottawa Public Health (OPH) will be conducting weekly, and not daily, E. coli bacteria testing of the water at Mooney’s Bay, Britannia, Petrie Island and Westboro beaches this summer.

In a memo to council, Recreation, Cultural and Facility Services general manager Dan Chenier said water samples will be collected weekly for the presence of E. coli bacteria, which will meet provincial standards.

“OPH’s historical sampling has built up a solid understanding of how the water at our beaches reacts to local conditions, including weather events,” Chenier says. “Our beaches meet the water quality standard nearly 85 per cent of the time. Water sample results provide a snapshot of water quality at the time a sample is taken. Water quality can change rapidly, depending on environmental factors like rain, wind and wildlife.”

Chenier says Ottawa’s supervised beaches are located on rivers with water that is “constantly moving.”

“Because water samples take 18-24 hours to process at the laboratory, they only indicate the quality of the water at the time of sampling, the day before,” Chenier said. “This results in limited accuracy for determining the real-time level of E. coli bacteria in the water.”

Ottawa Public Health notes the National Capital Commission tests water quality at its beaches in Gatineau and in Gatineau Park weekly.

Last summer, no swimming advisories were issued due to high E.coli counts and heavy rainfall on 13 days at Britannia Beach, 22 days at Mooney’s Bay beach, 32 days at the Petrie Island East Bay beach and 20 days at Petrie River Beaches.

Lifeguards will be on duty starting June 21 at Mooney’s Bay, Britannia, Petrie Island and Westboro beaches. This will be the first summer since 2022 that lifeguards will be on duty at Westboro Beach.

Extended beach season?

While lifeguards will be on duty at Ottawa’s four public beaches until August 24, the city is not closing the door to keeping lifeguards at beaches until Labour Day.

Chenier’s memo says the 2025 beach operating budget includes funding to extend lifeguard supervision until Sept. 1, “if sufficient staff can be retained.”

“Efforts are underway to implement this direction and to extend it to as many beaches as possible,” Chenier says.