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Ottawa Public Health issued a “swimming not recommended” advisory for Britannia Beach, Petrie East Bay and Petrie River on Wednesday due to elevated E. coli counts.
All three beaches exceeded 200 E. coli per 100 millilitres of water, which is the provincial standard for issuing such an alert. When those numbers are exceeded, swimmers are at increased risk of suffering skin, throat or stomach illnesses.
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Mooney’s Bay Beach was deemed safe for swimming Wednesday.
Water samples are taken daily at all Ottawa beaches from June 15 to Aug. 24 and it takes at least 18 hours to process. Results can be found on the Ottawa Public Health website.
Blayr Kelly, program manager for the Safe Food and Water Team at Ottawa Public Health, says other issues can result in no swimming advisories, including “upstream pollution sources, rainfall, water temperature, wind and wave influences, water flow and water elevation, and wildlife and bird activity near beaches.”
Ottawa Public Health cautions all swimmers to take precautions, regardless of whether an advisory has been issued. Kelly recommends swimmers don’t go in the water if they have an open wound and to not swallow water. It is also advised to shower as soon as possible after swimming.
Ottawa Riverkeeper monitors water conditions at the NCC River House. Water was deemed safe for swimming there as of Tuesday morning, the most recent report available on swimguide.org
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