Summer seems to be coming to an end, however, at least in Southwestern parts of Canada the temperature has been hotter than ever. With the prolonged sunny weather, it could be tempting to spend the final days of the warm climate at your local beach. Yet, It is important to know if a particular beach is safe to swim in, or even visit, due to the potentially harmful bacteria that could be occupying the water. Read on to help you stay safe at your local beach while the weather is still hot!
Your Local Beach Could Be Contaminated with E-coli
Public beaches are excellent places to visit during the hotter months of the year, however, due to their communal nature there is a possibility of bacterial contamination from the surrounding area. Many local beaches in the Windsor-Essex area have been closed multiple times this summer for containing high levels of E-coli in the water. E-coli can form in public water sources due to the formation of green algae. Green algae can develop in water through a whole host of contamination sources. Bacteria from a nearby sewer system, septic tanks, birds and pets, chemical leakage or biological spills from people or boats can seep into the water and E-coli can develop at a high rate. Any sort of fecal matter, whether it be from sewage systems or nearby animals, is a particularly common culprit when it comes to E-coli contamination in public beaches.
You may think you are protected from harmful E-coli bacteria at the beach if you stay on the sand and not enter the water, right? Well, according to water specialists there could actually be just as much, if not more, bacteria in the sand as there is in the lake or river. E-coli polluted water rolls onto shore and contaminates the neighboring sand, even after the water returns to the shore. So, laying out or eating on your favourite beach could still put you in contact with many forms of bacteria that have washed up from the shore. This also means that it is important to make sure young children aren’t playing around too much in the sand during beach closures so they don’t accidently make themselves ill.
How Is the Beach Tested Prior to a Closure?
To make sure public beaches are safe and to inform any citizens of potential closures, local health units will test beaches in the region frequently for E-coli and other harmful bacteria. The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit tests its beaches weekly to ensure information stays up to date and updates their website to inform local patrons. Currently WECHU tests Cedar, Cedar Island, Colchester, Mettawas, Point Pelee North West, Sandpoint, Seacliff and West Belle River Beaches on a regular basis. The levels of E-coli need to be at a particular amount in order for beach closure to occur. For the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, that level is over 200 E-coli bacteria for a warning and over 1000 E-coli in 100 millimeters of water for a beach closure. It is important to note that if E-coli is found in high concentrations, there are probably other harmful bacteria present as well.
The WECHU test 8 local beaches and sends five samples from each beach out for testing. However, after collecting samples, it does take the lab forty-eight hours to get results back. Within the forty-eight hours that testing is occurring before results are released, there could be heavy rainfall or unexpected contamination that may make the test results invalid. It is important that even if the health unit confirms a beach is safe to visit or swim in, exercise caution and if the water doesn’t look clear enough, don’t go in.
Why You Shouldn’t Risk It
E-coli bacteria can be very risky to your health and cause a whole bunch of nasty symptoms if contracted. These can include: nausea, vomiting, headache, mild fever, stomach cramps, and diarrhea as well as ear, nose, throat and lung infections. In addition to these unpleasant symptoms, E-coli contamination could lead to hospitalization or even death in some cases. E-coli can be spread from the water or sand through ingesting water, or through open wounds and broken skin.
Like mentioned previously, it is important to make sure you know the beach sample results before swimming or visiting your local beach. In addition, don’t go swimming until forty-eight hours after heavy rain or wind, if you can’t see your feet in the water, or if the water is a cloud or green colour as these could all be signs that the water is not clean enough to enter.
If your region has stopped doing weekly tested, which the Windsor-Essex Country Health Unit stops around posting results around mid-September, exercise caution and enter beaches at your own risk. If you live in the Windsor-Essex area, click this link to see if your local beach is safe to use. Even though the latest results were posted September 16th, you can still use those results to gauge if you want to visit particular beaches and if they are often closed for contamination. Remember that you can always test the water yourself with an at-home kit if you don’t feel like waiting the forty-eight hours, or local testing has stopped for the summer.
What are your thoughts on the closure of local beaches? Let us know your experiences below!