Water quality advisory issued for beach

A water quality advisory has been issued for Rotary Beach in Kelowna.

The beach is not closed, but swimming advisory signs have been posted so that the public can make an informed choice.

The city says very young, the elderly and people with weakened immunity are the most susceptible to infection related to bacterial counts in the water.

When E. coli reaches 200 units per 100 millilitre sample, it’s expected that one per cent of bathers may develop gastrointestinal (stomach) illness if these bacteria are ingested. Eye, ear and throat symptoms, as well as skin rashes (not swimmer’s itch), can occur more frequently.

“We are asking the public not to swim or engage in water-related recreation activities at Rotary Beach until the water quality advisory has been lifted,” said Blair Stewart, Parks Services Manager. “Most people would be fine, but there is that one per cent who could become ill.”

Other Kelowna beaches are not under a swimming advisory and are safe for swimming at this time.

A Swimming Advisory is a notice to swimmers that bacterial levels are currently higher than those allowed in the Guidelines for Canadian Recreational Water Quality. The maximum allowable number of E. coli bacteria in recreational water is 200 per 100-millilitre sample. Recent testing has shown the water at Rotary Beach has a count of 420 per 100-millilitre sample.

Observations over the past 10 days at Rotary indicated that there was a large amount of plant material on the beach as well as in the water.

Beach water quality can fluctuate due to a number of different factors including currents, runoff, creek outflows, waterfowl and animal waste. The City of Kelowna and Interior Health sample water quality at higher risk beaches, with no fewer than five samples in a 30-day period.