Community water testing program continues on Lake Erie, announce Swim Drink Fish and Niagara Coastal Community Collaborative

Weekend Dispatches
Written By Guest User

September 2, 2020 – Port Colborne and Fort Erie, ON - For the second summer the Lake Erie - Niagara Monitoring Hub is monitoring recreational water quality at three locations in the Niagara Region, on the North Shore of Lake Erie. The Hub tests for E.coli bacteria at each location once per week and the results indicate if the sites pass or fail the standards for recreational water quality. The results are available to the public on the free website and app, Swim Guide.  Monitoring will continue through to the end of September. 

The three locations currently monitored are:

  • Gravelly Bay - Sugarloaf in Port Colborne

  • Waverly Beach - Public Road Allowances in Fort Erie

  • Lorraine Bay in Port Colborne

The Lake Erie - Niagara Hub was established in 2019 by Swim Drink Fish with the Niagara Coastal Community Collaborative and is supported by Niagara College, a member of the Collaborative. In 2020 the Hub began working with the Lorraine Bay Association to monitor the waters of Lorraine Bay in Port Colborne. The Hub is run by Swim Drink Fish staff with the support of volunteer citizen scientists. The Hub was established with funding received from Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Great Lakes Protection Initiative.

The monitoring season launch was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Quotes

“With so many people sticking close to home this summer and the long stretches of hot weather,  reliable water quality information is important to the community. We are glad the community monitoring program is able to help people connect with nature and stay healthy this summer.” – Krystyn Tully, Vice-President of Swim Drink Fish

“It feels good to be back on the water. We’ve been able to adapt the monitoring program so we can process samples and still follow strict COVID-19 precautions. There are still volunteer opportunities for people who are able to visit our monitoring locations on their own and collect observations and photographs for us.” Gregary Ford, Monitoring Coordinator

Quick Facts

  • In 2019 the 75 volunteer citizen scientists who worked with the Hub donated a total of 438 hours of their time.

  • The Lake Erie - Niagara Monitoring Hub follows the Operational Approaches for Recreational Water Guideline, 2018, set by the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care.

  • E. coli is an indicator bacteria for fecal contamination in waters. Waters with elevated E. coli counts pose an increased risk of contracting waterborne illnesses for recreational water users.

  • The Lake Erie - Niagara Monitoring Hub is following the Ontario Public Health  recommendations for social distancing, wearing masks, frequently washing or sanitizing hands, and completing a COVID-19 self-assessment prior to each volunteer shift.

  • Swim Drink Fish is a registered charity that is home to Fraser Riverkeeper, North Saskatchewan Riverkeeper, Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, Great Lakes Challenge, Watermark Project, Great Lakes Guide, and Blue Flag Canada. Together these initiatives create tools using law, science, and communications technology that inspire people around the world to explore, understand, and protect their waters.

  • The Niagara Coastal Community Collaborative has a “Collective Impact” approach to coordinate efforts focused on three ecological priorities; habitat and species, healthy beaches, and nature based shorelines. The Collaborative connects local knowledge, engagement and action to facilitate a healthy and resilient coastal ecosystem on Lake Erie North Shore.

  • Swim Guide is an initiative of Swim Drink Fish. A free website and app, it is the most popular beach information service in the world, with a growing community of 5 million users.

  • This project was undertaken with financial support of the Government of Canada through the federal Department of Environment and Climate Change.

  • Ce projet a été realisé avec l’appui financier du gouvernement du Canada agissant par l’entremise du ministère fédéral de l’Environnement et du Changement climatique.

Image

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Photo credit instructions: “Photo provided by Swim Drink Fish.”

Contact

Jessica Gordon

Communications Coordinator

Swim Drink Fish

Jessica@swimdrinkfish.ca

416-861-1237 ext 5377

Guest User
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