New Brunswickers say they’re confused over how to find information on when public beaches are safe to swim in and how water quality testing works in the province.
Sussex resident David Armstrong visited Killarney Lake in Fredericton for the first time Wednesday to spend time with his granddaughter and family and said he often wonders about water quality at beaches.
“It’s always nerve-racking when you get your thunderstorms or lightning and heavy rains and what flows into the lake obviously comes from upstream and so there’s always that worry,” Armstrong said.
He said it would be nice if there was one place people could go to — a website or an app — to provide up-to-date information.
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Opposition health critic Brian MacDonald told Global News there should be a simpler way for people to get information about water quality.
“We need the government to step forward and develop a comprehensive strategy for all the beaches across New Brunswick where people can understand what the challenges are with the water and find very clearly what the testing was, and what the results are and whether they can go swimming or not,” MacDonald said.
He also said people should be able to easily find out why they can’t go swimming if ‘No-Swimming’ advisories are issued.
MacDonald said most people are aware of the “fiasco” surrounding Parlee Beach. He said he’s glad to see there’s progress being made, but said the confusion surrounding Parlee has done “brand damage” to New Brunswick beaches.
In an e-mail from a New Brunswick Department of Health spokesperson, Global News was told that “while samples are collected at some beaches that public health regional offices have identified as being popular recreational destinations, there is no formal recreational water monitoring program in New Brunswick”.
The spokesperson said the public should keep an eye out for signage indicating the suitability of the water for swimming and abide by any advisories.
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City of Fredericton recreation co-ordinator for aquatics Adam Munn said sampling at Killarney Lake in Fredericton is done by public health officials.
“Our water is tested by the Department of Health and they do water quality testing on a bi-weekly basis and we receive those reports when they do come in and we’ve been told in the past that if anything were to come up that they would advise swimmers to stay out of the water that that would be included in their report as a recommendation but for the most part sort of a no news is good news type of approach,” Munn said.
New Brunswick acting deputy chief medical officer of health Dr. Cristin Muecke told Global News Tuesday that regional public health offices have identified popular recreational beaches and swimming areas in their regions that will be tested by public safety employees over the summer.
First ‘Canada Beach Report’ released
On June 27 the first Canadian comparative study on recreational water quality monitoring report was released.
The Canada Beach Report provides a snapshot of the state of recreational water quality monitoring across the country.
Conservation Council of New Brunswick executive director Lois Corbett told Global News it’s the first time “water keepers” in Canada have worked together to produce a nation-wide report on recreational swimming reporting.
She said in the United States has released annual reports like this for the past ten years.
“The heavy lifting was done by the Lake Ontario water keepers and really groups like the Conservation Council of New Brunswick, the Petitcodiac water keepers, the Bay of Fundy water keepers, we’re just checking for some of our information, but I’m quite proud that the groups came together and were able to release this,” Corbett said.
Corbett said the report highlights that more and more Canadians, including New Brunswickers, are swimming , fishing and having fun in fresh water and on Canadian beaches.
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While Corbett said it’s a “good thing” more Canadians are getting outside and getting active, she said the report also shows “alarming gaps in data and understanding”.
The report states there are approximately 60 official beaches in New Brunswick used for swimming and recreational activities, but says there are few beaches that are monitored.
It says Saskatchewan and New Brunswick are currently developing protocols for recreational water quality monitoring. The report goes into detail regarding how swimming advisories are issued and communicated to the public.
Corbett said monitoring and data collection occurs at various points through the province, including monitoring for blue-green algae, E. Coli along some lakes and popular beaches and along the Northumberland Strait, but said there is “no comprehensive place where folks can go and get that information about water quality.”
She said reports take time from when they’re started to when they’re released and said since it started the province has developed better reporting protocol for Parlee Beach and Murray Beach and other beaches to come. She said in the New Brunswick section of the report it doesn’t have that information up-to-date.
“Since pen was first put to paper in the development of this report six months ago, the Department of Environment and Minister Rousselle and the provincial government of New Brunswick have made a lot of progress,” Corbett said.
“We knew that data monitoring was happening, but we were not able from the outside to see why that information wasn’t publicly accessible and why reporting seemed to lag or was held up,” Corbett said.
She said that’s one of the reasons why it’s important to have a Canada-wide report.
“It points to neighbouring provinces with good reporting standards and it helps the folks that have lagged behind, usually due to lack of resources, to catch-up a bit,” corbett said,
“When you pull national data together you can see the holes and the gaps and unless you tell that story, ‘here’s the national snapshot of freshwater beaches and salt water beaches,’ how else would you know where the gaps are in that picture,” Corbett said.
She said the more data that can be released in a comprehensive and easy to understand fashion, the easier it is for everyone to protect clean water.
Corbett said a “one stop shop” for all water quality information would be a good goal to help families understand where it’s safe to swim.
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