Fifth straight day for no-swim advisory at Parlee Beach

Thursday marked the fifth straight day of no swimming advisory notices posted at Parlee Beach Provincial Park in Pointe-du-Chêne, N.B., due to high E. coli and enterococcus counts.

There have been ten no swimming advisories issued for the beach this summer, equal to the number issued in the same period last year.

Department of Health spokesperson Clarissa Andersen said possible sources include surface water run-off from agriculture and urban areas, sewage system overflows, birds, wild and domesticated animals, and fecal shedding from swimmers themselves.

The Shediac Bay Watershed Association executive manger Jolyne Hébert said it’s been a wet summer and the heavy rains are a factor as well.

“It is to be expected to have higher levels of E. coli or bacterial counts in the bay and at the beach resulting from rainfall,” said Hébert.

Hébert said storm water that goes down drains in the Town of Shediac does not get treated.

“They are actually discharged along our coastline, so when we have a rainfall we actually have this flush of anything that is on land surfaces, like agriculture or urban surfaces, like parking lots, roof tops, road ways,” said Hébert. “And on these surfaces you can find a variety of pollutants such as animal waste, either it's wild animals or domesticated animals. Birds of course have an impact as well.”

Andersen said it is normal for bacteria levels to fluctuate year to year and it is common to find low levels of E. coli and enterococcus bacteria in any surface water.

Local swim advisories are nothing new to people from the area who visit the beach, but many tourists arrive without knowing in advance.

Chris Contonis of Cambridge, Ont. came to Parlee with his family on Thursday.

“Of course there's a concern, yeah. I definitely don't want to be dumping my head under the water. But still, we’ll hopefully try to enjoy the beach as much as we can,” said Contonis.

Laura DesBrisay was visiting from Cold Spring, N.Y., with her family, but she grew up in Moncton and spent her childhood summers on the beach.

“We grew up here and we swam in the water happily for many years, generations. My dad grew up here as well and now we're concerned about our kids swimming. We're concerned about their health,” said DesBrisay.

Pointe-du-Chêne cottage owner Bill Ross said his concern is the testing process itself.

Samples are taken in mid to late morning by members of the Shediac Bay Watershed and then sent to a lab Moncton.

The results of the samples are reported to the Department of Health who then decides is a no-swim advisory is warranted.

Hébert said there is no “instant message” as of yet and the process takes a little over 24 hours.

Ross says that leaves swimmers guessing if the water is safe.

“They don't know the quality of the water on the day that they're in the water. They only know that the water is contaminated the next day and it's too late they've already been in the water with their kids all day,” said Ross.

That upsets DesBrisay too.

“We especially don't appreciate the delay in the testing results which makes it almost impossible to know if it's safe to swim,” said DesBrisay.

Hébert’s advice for anybody who does want to spend a day at Parlee is to take precautions.

She suggests avoiding putting your head under water when there is a higher bacteria count or not going in at all if you have an open wound or sores.

“If you're immune-compromised, take extra precautions. Make sure to wash your hands before you eat when you get out of the water,” said Hébert.

She also recommends people checking the forecast when planning a trip.

Andersen said beach-goers can expect water quality to be worse if there was a heavy rainfall in 24 to 48 hours before a visit.

“No-swimming advisories are lifted when the Department of Health is able to confirm the water is acceptable for recreational use,” said Andersen in an email.

Andersen said swimming in waters with higher than normal bacteria levels does not necessarily mean someone will get sick if they ingest some of the water, but it does increase the risk of gastrointestinal illness beyond normal daily levels.

For more New Brunswick news visit our dedicated provincial page.