Halifax-area residents eager to beat the heat at the beach were walking away disappointed on Thursday after six of the municipality’s beaches were closed due to high levels of bacteria.
“We didn’t know, but then when we got here and took our spots and were about to go into the water, they told us we would get sick if we went into the water,” says one beachgoer at Albro Lake in Dartmouth.
However, some people ignored the lifeguards’ warnings at Albro Lake.
“It’s too hot of a day to not be in the water,” says swimmer Nathaniel Brown. “I’ve been swimming here all my life. I really don’t find the bacteria is too high. I have nothing on me yet, so…”
“I don’t think it would harm me, if I swallow it maybe, but if I don’t swallow the water, I should be fine, I think,” says beachgoer Billur Ugursal.
But city officials disagree, saying people should stay out of the water altogether.
“Bad things can happen when you don’t take precautions,” says city spokesman Cameron Deacoff. “It’s possible that you’ve been lucky in the past, if you’ve been exposed to high bacteria levels, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to get away with an exposure next time.”
But with temperatures reaching 30 degrees across the municipality, many residents felt going to the beach was the only way to beat the heat.
“This morning when we came out, there was hardly anybody here, and then all of a sudden, flocks started coming this way,” says Regina Goodyear.
Spray parks are also expected to be closed across the city on the weekend to conserve water while the city does repairs.
With a weekend of hot, humid weather ahead, area resident Melissa Fougere says the city couldn’t have picked a worse time to ask residents to conserve water.
“It’s going to be horrendous…I might have to vacate the city,” she says.
Click here for a complete list of closed beaches.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Gena Holley
