Parlee Beach, the number one destination for beach goers in New Brunswick, has the warmest waters north of the Carolinas — but with that warm water comes higher risk of contamination.
The beach posts signs indicating the quality of the water to beach goers — ranging from excellent to poor — but some visitors would like those signs changed to be more precise and give more information.
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The Shediac Watershed Association is tasked with taking water samples in and around the Parlee Beach area.
In their samples they’re looking for contaminants like e-coli, a bacteria that can cause various illnesses from diarrhea to kidney failure.
Parlee Beach then uses those results to advise the public of the quality of the water on any given day.
According to provincial standards, a finding of 30 counts of the bacteria in a 100 ml sample of ocean water results in an automatic “poor” water quality rating.
However, some say classifications like “excellent” or “poor” don’t give much indication as to how much e-coli is actually in the water.
In addition, the tests results take two days to be confirmed, meaning the water quality may have changed from the time the test was done to the time the information was posted.
Some beach goers would like to see the signs modified to indicate more precise levels of contamination.
“If they put a graduated scale beside the sign, that would be an easy fix. Zero to 50 – excellent, 5 to 100 – moderate, 100 to 2oo – poor,” said Jim Weldon with the association.
“That might relieve some people’s concerns.”
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