The beach at Sunny Cove Camp was re-opened to swimmers Friday after being declared “unsafe for swimming” last Monday, the Northwestern Health Unit said Monday.
Brian Norris, a public health inspector with the health unit, noted two consecutive water samples came back “clear.” He said the high water level on Rainy Lake was the likely factor for the brief concentration of bacteria.
“It’s always difficult to say for sure what causes the high level of bacteria but there’s been a lot of run-off,” he noted Monday morning. “And if there’s high winds on the day a samples taken, that can stir up sediment.”
This closure was not reported in the Daily Bulletin last week because the health unit did not send out a media release.
“Technically, the general public does not have open access to Sunny Cove, you have to rent it to use it,” said Norris. “But if say, Pither’s Point were closed, we’d immediately contact the town and the media.”
The health unit samples water at district beaches on a weekly basis.
In related news, Hannam Park Beach in Rainy River remains closed after high-bacteria samples were found there June 14.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
