It’s considered one of the top beaches in the Maritimes, but once again this summer, a warning has been issued about poor water quality at Parlee Beach.
More than 150 lifeguards from across the country have descended on the New Brunswick beach for the annual Canadian Surf Lifeguard Championships.
The competition tests skill, endurance and lifesaving abilities.
"Right now, we're going with the Iron Guard and the Ocean Man, which is an event that combines all the skills we use as a lifeguard on a daily basis," says lifeguard Simon LeBlanc.
On top of the competition, officials are contending with water quality.
"We talked to the staff here and found out what's going on and what the story is. They said long story, it’s okay, it's good enough for us to go,” says Lifesaving Society program manager Angela Johnson. “But if it was really bad and we couldn't go in the water, obviously we wouldn't be putting them in."
The water quality was rated poor but jumped to fair on Friday.
"It's not like a pool where you can shock it or put chlorine in it and make it work right, you have to wait. I think the rain fall has to stop because the extra rain fall makes it worse, so it just takes time,” says Johnson.
A fair rating is geared towards young children to caution them not to swallow the water.
The New Brunswick health department says a number of factors play into the quality of water, including bacteria, temperature and weather.
"As long as it's safe for us to be in, we of course trust the lifeguards and who ever does the water quality testing, so if they say it's safe for us to be competing in, then I don't really think any of us give it a second thought," says competitor Alexandra Ferguson.
The lifeguard championship goes all weekend until Sunday.
Organizers say they'll be working closely with the staff at Parlee Beach to assure the water quality is okay for the lifeguards to be in.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Ashley Blackford.
