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!