High E. coli levels force closure of Lake Winnipeg beach

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Cottage owners and vacationers at one Lake Winnipeg beach have been hit with the news that E. coli levels are so high and so dangerous that the beach has been closed to swimmers.

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Several other nearby beaches remain open, but are also dealing with high levels of the bacteria.

“The mood around here is disappointment,” long-time Albert Beach property owners Janis Ferguson said on Monday. “We sometimes have warnings, but a beach closure is fairly rare. It’s still a beautiful beach to walk or lounge on, and although it changes the dynamics for all of us, it’s most disappointing for the kids.

“Last week we couldn’t get them out of the water, and this week we can’t let them in.”

The province announced on Friday that Albert Beach, a popular beach community in the east beaches area of the Interlake, was issued an official beach closure due to what the province said are “significantly elevated” E.coli levels in the beach’s main swimming area.

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The beach was closed after testing done last week, and the province said they are planning to test the beach area again on Monday, and release results from those tests as soon as they are available.

Adding to the anxiety for her and others in the area, according to Ferguson, is the fact that little is known about when or if the beach will reopen to swimmers this summer, and why the beach has been so far the only one officially shut down due to E. coli.

“I haven’t seen or heard anything, and what I don’t understand is why Albert Beach is the only one in the province that’s closed,” she said.

Should the high levels of bacterial and the beach closure persist, Ferguson said she also worries it could start to affect local businesses in the area that rely on beach-goers and higher traffic volumes in the summer months for their survival.

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And while the closure currently only affects Albert Beach, the province also confirmed that E. coli levels are also above what is considered a “recreational level” at West Grand Beach, Hillside Beach and Sunset Beach, although they have not said if they are currently considering closing any of those Lake Winnipeg beaches to swimmers as well.

According to the province, those three beaches currently have warning signs posted, and swimmers are asked not to swallow any lake water, to wash their hands before eating, to avoid swimming if they have any open sores or are dealing with an illness, and to avoid swimming if lake levels are high and if there are strong north winds.

The issue of the current health of Lake Winnipeg has been front and centre in recent months in this province, since the city of Winnipeg announced earlier this year that a massive sewage leak near the Fort Garry Bridge in south Winnipeg caused approximately 221 million litres of raw sewage to flow into the Red River, which flows into Lake Winnipeg.

It is also becoming a growing legal issue, as back in May eight First Nations located on or near Lake Winnipeg announced they had filed a more than $4 billion lawsuit against the city, the province and the federal government for what they called the ongoing “pollution and degradation” of Lake Winnipeg.

— Dave Baxter is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the Winnipeg Sun. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.

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