West Vancouver’s Ambleside Park has joined a growing list of beaches closed to swimming due to high levels of bacteria.
A pair of Vancouver Coastal Health water tests on Friday returned readings of 1,178 E.coli / 100ml of water and 464 E.coli / 100ml of water.
The health region closes beaches to swimming when it gets multiple samples of water that return readings higher than 200 E.coli / 100ml, or a single sample exceeding 400 E.coli.
The Ambleside closure comes two days after Trout Lake at John Hendry Park was closed to swimmers due to high E.coli levels. VCH attributed those levels to goose droppings in the lake.
Sunset Beach at the mouth of False Creek has also been closed to swimmers since June 29.
WATCH: (August 2018) Three Vancouver beaches closed to swimming due to E.coli
That closure has drawn increased attention from Vancouver municipal politicians who are pitching motions to the park board and Vancouver city council aimed at accelerating the city’s plan to separate sewer and storm water systems.
READ MORE: Bacterial bloom means three Vancouver beaches closed to swimming again
Park Commissioner John Coupar and Coun. Sarah Kirby-Yung say the currently combined systems mean untreated sewage is flowing into waterways such as False Creek during overflow from periods of heavy rain.
Snug Cove on Bowen Island has also been closed to swimmers since June 27.
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