Several Niagara beaches unsafe for swimming tests reveal

With Niagara Region set to bake for the next couple of days, residents should be aware that not all beaches around are safe to cool off at.

While most of the Region’s beaches will be open for swimming, a few are shuttered for the time being.

The first is Fort Erie’s Bernard Ave Beach which is closed due to e. coli in the water. Even a small E. coli exposure can cause severe stomach cramping, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

While most people will recover with the week, children and older adults run a greater risk of a life-threatening kidney failure.

Also closed due to e. coli is Port Colborne’s Nickel Beach. Meanwhile Nelles Beach in Grimsby is closed due to an unspecified safety concern.

Other than that all other beaches are currently open. This includes;

• Bay Beach, Fort Erie
• Casablanca Beach, Grimsby
• Centennial Cedar Bay Beach, Port Colborne
• Charles Daley Park, Lincoln
• Crescent Beach, Fort Erie
• Fifty Point Conservation Beach, Grimsby
• Lakeside Beach, St. Catharines
• Long Beach, Wainfleet
• Queen’s Royal Park, Niagara-on-the-Lake
• Reeb’s Bay, Wainfleet
• Sherkston Quarry Beach, Port Colborne
• Sherkston Wyldewood Beach, Port Colborne
• Sunset Beach, St. Catharines
• Wainfleet Lake Erie Public Access Beach, Wainfleet
• Waverly Beach, Fort Erie

Niagara Region monitors all beaches from Victoria Day to Labour Day. They measure bacteria in the water as well as air temperature, water temperature, water cloudiness, wind speed and wave height to ensure the beaches are safe.

Each beach is monitored between one to six time per week, depending on its history of outbreaks and usage.