The Northwestern Health Unit has declared Pither’s Point beach here safe for swimming again after having closed it last week due to the high bacteria counts in the water.
Public health inspector Brian Norris said this morning that the ban was lifted Saturday after a suitable number of water samples tested negative for unacceptable levels of E. coli.
While Norris previously had noted the beach wouldn’t be declared safe for swimming until Sunday at the earliest, the health unit doubled its sampling. When 40 samples came back with a “negative” bacteria count, the beach again was considered safe.
Norris said the health unit, which has been sampling the water daily since the unacceptable results last week, will sample it again today. If this sample comes back “clean,” the daily sampling will return to a weekly basis.
The health unit announced the closure last Wednesday afternoon after routine sampling showed unsafe levels of E. coli. This is a precautionary measure in order to protect the health, well-being, and safety of the public.
This marked the first time this summer Pither’s Point beach has had to be closed due to high E. coli levels. It was closed twice last August due to the bacteria levels in the water.
Both times, the restriction lasted less than a week.
Hannam Park beach in Rainy River was closed in mid-July—the only other district beach shut down so far this summer.
E. coli—the strain of bacterium public health inspectors test for here—can cause skin, ear, nose, and mouth infections. If ingested, it can cause severe ’flu-like symptoms.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
