Four Metro Vancouver beaches unsafe for swimming due to E. coli
Warm weather in Metro Vancouver means a cool dip in the ocean finally sounds appealing, but users of several popular beaches and waterways are being warned about hazardously high E. coli levels.
Right now, E. coli levels are high at Second Beach, Third Beach, and Sunset Beach in downtown Vancouver. Ambleside Beach in West Vancouver is also impacted.
That’s according to the latest sampling numbers from Vancouver Coastal Health. A most probable number (MPN) of E. coli per 100 millilitres of water greater than 200 prompts a warning from the health authority.
The latest numbers from Second Beach suggest an E. coli MPN of nearly 2,400. Third Beach’s samples had about 1,800, Sunset Beach had 670, and Ambleside had a high of 860 at one of its monitoring stations.
Vancouver Coastal Health
False Creek, popular with kayakers and other boaters, had an E. coli reading of nearly 5,000 per 100 millilitres.
English Bay, Kitsilano, and Spanish Banks are all still safe for swimming.
Vancouver Coastal Health posts water quality testing results on its website — a useful resource ahead of any summer beach day.
Daily Hive has reached out to the City of Vancouver about why E. coli levels are so high right now.
E. coli, short for Escherichia coli, is a bacteria that can cause diarrhea, urinary tract infections, and more. Most people recover from an E. coli infection in a week or so, but in severe cases, it can cause kidney impairment. It’s normal to have low concentrations of bacteria in swimming water, but when it gets too plentiful, authorities caution against swimming.
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