Two Toronto beaches are unsafe for swimming due to high E. coli levels
Despite Torontonians looking for a way to cool off from the heat, two of the city’s beaches have been marked unsafe, as testing has found high levels of E. coli
Kew Balmy Beach and Sunnyside Beach have both been reported by the municipality as showing unsafe levels of E. coli as of Monday morning.
Sunnyside Beach has been closed since July 8. A third location, Woodbine Beaches, was closed last week for the same reason, but was marked safe on Sunday.
City of Toronto
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According to the city, Lake Ontario is experiencing record high water levels, this combined with the heat, are prime conditions for the formation of bacterial.
“The public should not swim during and after storms, floods, or heavy rainfall,” the warnings read. “Cloudy water can be an indicator of high levels of bacteria that may pose a risk to human health.”
The city’s website shows normal E. coli levels ranging between 10 and 76. Sunnyside Beach’s reading is at 118, while Kew is at 147, both exceeding the limits.
City of Toronto
From June to Labour Day, the City of Toronto takes daily water samples from all 11 supervised beaches across the city and tests for E. coli bacteria. When E. coli levels are high Toronto Public Health posts warning signs against swimming
If you’re wondering if your beach of choice is safe for swimming on a specific day, the status of the beach water is updated daily. Visit Toronto’s SwimSage page for an up-to-date status of all the beaches in the city.
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