A dumping of rain Thursday and into Friday has Ottawa Public Health warning against swimming at the city’s five supervised beaches ahead of the weekend.
Ottawa’s public health unit regularly tests water at the city’s beaches for E. coli when deciding whether or not to issue swimming warnings.
An elevated level of the bacteria (above 200 E. coli per 100 millilitres of sampled water) could lead to a no-swim advisory, as do periods of heavy rainfall or other adverse conditions.
On Friday, OPH said swimming is “not recommended” at each of the five city-run beaches — Mooney’s Bay, Petrie Island’s east bay and river beaches, Britannia Beach and Westboro Beach — due to the past day’s rainfall.
Environment Canada says Ottawa got 17.7 millimetres of rain on Thursday with continued risk of precipitation into Friday.
The east bay at Petrie Island is also exhibiting high levels of bacteria in the waters, with 1,000 E. coli in its latest count.
If any residents choose to swim at these sites despite the warnings, OPH cautions swimmers to avoid entering the waters with an open wound, keep water out of their mouth and their head above the surface, and shower as soon as possible afterwards. Residents should wash their hands after playing in the sand before preparing food, as well.