Of Niagara’s 19 beaches, four are unsafe to swim in this weekend

Niagara Region has 19 public beaches on both Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, all of them with their own charms.

But this weekend, the Niagara Region Public Health’s beach monitoring program says four of them are unsafe for swimming this weekend due to either ecoli or algae problems.

Waverly Beach in Fort Erie is unsafe due to algae issues while Fifty Point Conservation Beach in Grimsby was deemed unsafe due to ecoli levels.

Nelles Beach, also in Grimsby, is unsafe to swim due to safety issues while Sunset Beach in St. Catharines isn’t safe to swim due to ecoli levels.

Meanwhile, Bay Beach, Bernard Avenue Beach and Crescent Beach, all in Fort Erie, are safe to swim in this weekend. The same goes for Casablanca Beach in Grimsby.

Charles Daley Beach in Lincoln and Queen’s Royal Beach in Niagara-on-the-Lake also both get thumbs-up.

All five Port Colborne beaches – Centennial Cedar Bay, Nickel Beach, Sherkston Elco, Sherkston Quarry and Sherkston Wyldewood – are cleared for safe swimming.

Lakeside Beach in St. Catharines and the three beaches in Wainfleet – Long Beach, Reebs Bay and Wainfleet Lake Erie Public Access Beach – have all be deemed safe to swim.

Niagara Region Public Health’s beach monitoring program operates annually from Victoria Day to Labour Day. The goal of is to reduce the risk of illness and injury associated with attending the beach.

Each beach is sampled between one to six time per week, based on annual assessments and public usage.