Beach Water Quality 

Interior Health monitors the water quality at designated public beaches within its jurisdiction. Health Protection staff assess the potential of health hazards occurring at beaches, and sample the water for bacterial levels.

If beach water quality does not meet Health Canada standards, advisory signs will be posted.

Health Risk

As with any activity, there can be health risks associated with swimming and playing at an outdoor beach. Individuals most at risk when they become ill from contaminated water are young children, elderly people, and people with weak immune systems.

Microbial Contamination:

Microorganisms live naturally in lakes, rivers, streams and hot springs, along with larger animals such as insects, snails, fish, beavers, and ducks. Microorganisms include viruses, bacteria and single-cell parasites. Although most of these microbes do not cause illness in humans, some do. The illnesses include:

• Stomach and intestinal diseases, which can cause vomiting, diarrhea and other signs and symptoms
• Swimmer's Itch and skin infections
• Eye, ear, nose & throat infections

It is difficult to test for all of the different types of microorganisms that could cause illness. Therefore, water samples are tested for bacteria that are closely associated with those that make a person sick. These are called indicator bacteria. Escherichia coli (E. coli) and fecal coliforms are bacteria that live in the intestines of warm-blooded animals and help the animals digest food. E. coli and fecal coliforms are considered indicator bacteria because a water sample that contains these bacteria is also likely to contain other microorganisms that could cause illness. Therefore, water quality is monitored using E. coli and/or fecal coliforms – the larger the number of indicator bacteria detected in a sample, the more likely the water contains other microorganisms that could cause people to be sick. When results exceed the Guidelines for Canadian Recreational Water Quality (GCRWQ), Interior Health recommends the local authority post the beach with an advisory for the public.

Inspection:

In keeping with Health Canada’s Guidelines for Canadian Recreational Water Quality (GCRWQ), Interior Health public health inspectors sample water weekly throughout the summer at about two dozen public beaches. Beach water that exceeds a count of 200 fecal coliforms per 100-millilitre sample poses an increased public health risk – particularly for at-risk populations such as the very young, the very old, and people with weakened immunity.

Reporting:

•  List of Beaches Being Tested in Beach water quality program
• Beaches exceeding Health Canada guidelines

Resources:

• Health Canada’s Guidelines for Canadian Recreational Water Quality
• Interior Health  Health Protection Offices; Health Centres 
•  Beach Water Quality Information Package 

Understanding Beach Water Contamination

• Disease-causing microorganisms in water include bacteria, viruses, and parasites (e.g. Giardia and Cryptosporidium).
• Sources of these disease-causing organisms include discharge of untreated sewage, runoff from agricultural activities, wastes from waterfowl, wild and domestic animals, as well as fertilizers, pesticides, and garbage.
• Beach water quality is typically poorer in summer when the warmer water escalates bacterial growth and swimmers stir up bacteria-containing sediments. Contamination is also more likely to increase during and after rainstorms.
• Escherichia coli (E. coli) belongs to a group of bacteria called fecal coliforms that originate in the digestive tract of warm-blooded animals. E. coli do not normally cause illness themselves, but when present in large numbers are often associated with more harmful disease-causing organisms.
• Disease-causing organisms can cause ear, nose, and throat infections, as well as stomach upsets. The very young, the very old, and people with weakened immunity are the most susceptible to infection.
• The risk of infection is directly related to bacterial counts in the water.
• The allowable maximum number of bacteria in recreational water — as outlined in the Guidelines for Canadian Recreational Water Quality — is 200 E. coli per 100-millilitre sample.