Five beaches posted as unsafe for swimming this weekend, including both Oshawa beaches

Five beaches – including both beaches in Oshawa and two of Clarington’s three public beaches – have been posted as unsafe for swimming this weekend because of elevated levels of E. coli.

Beaches are posted as unsafe for swimming when levels of E. coli exceed the provincial standard of 200 E. coli per 100 ml of water.

The fifth beach to get the ‘no swimming’ sign is Kinsmen Beach at Port Perry’s Palmer Park, which also has a blue-green algae advisory. People can protect themselves and their pets from blue-green algae blooms by not swimming or playing in areas where water is discoloured or where foam, scum, or mats of algae on the water’s surface are present. Consuming fish from areas where mats of algae are present is also not advised.

The Health Department reminds the public not to swim in beach water for at least 48 hours after heavy rainfall, as bacteria levels can increase due to run-off.

Bowmanville East Beach in Clarington is safe for swimming, as is Paradise Beach in Ajax, Iroquois Beach and Whitby Beach in Whitby, Frenchman’s Bay East and Frenchman’s Bay West beaches in Pickering and all three beaches on Lake Simcoe in Brock Township: Beaverton North and Beaverton South and Thorah Centennial Park.

Throughout the summer, Durham’s Health Department conducts bacteriological water tests to determine if beaches are safe for swimming. The Public Health Ontario Laboratory in Peterborough tests the water samples and the results are shared with the media by the Friday of each week, to assist with public notification of beach postings.

For more information about the Health Department’s Beach Monitoring program, visit durham.ca/beaches, or call Durham Health Connection Line at (905) 668-2020 or 1-800-841-2729.