Fraser Health shut down Burnaby's Barnet Marine Park Beach to swimming Monday after tests revealed high levels of E. coli bacteria in the water.
The latest samples contained twice the amount of E. coli deemed acceptable under the national guidelines.
Those guidelines recommend the geometric mean for the bacteria – which can the increase risk of gastro-intestinal illness to swimmers – should be less than or equal to 200 E. coli bacteria per 100 millilitres of water.
Two consecutive samples at Barnet beach showed more than 400 E. coli bacteria per 100 ml.
Old Orchard Park, another Burrard Inlet beach in Port Moody, recorded similar levels of the bacteria in three consecutive samples.
Recent high temperatures may be behind the high E. coli counts, even though the bacteria actually survive better in cooler temperatures, according to Fraser Health spokesperson Tasleem Juma.
“The warm temperature factor is in relation to people actually being out and accessing the water more,” she told the NOW. “You have a lot more swimmers in the water; you have a lot more people going out with their dogs; you have the geese that are now starting their migration.”
She said Fraser Health health protection officers don’t think the high bacteria count is the result of marine discharge from more boats on the water, because marine discharge, she said, is “sporadic and rare.”
“It’s likely a factor of just more people and more animals in the water,” she said.
For more information, visit news.fraserhealth.ca.
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