Waterkeeper fears Hamiltonians may be swimming in contaminated water

Attention: Public Health & Community Services, Hamilton

Waterkeeper has been monitoring beach closures in the Golden Horseshoe since June 1, and we?ve noticed several irregularities in hamilton's reporting. We?ve been comparing your hotline information with your web site information, and we have found that the hotline and web site have had different beach closures listed 10 times out of 12.

For example, your web site says that only Bayfront Park is closed today, while your hotline makes no mention of Bayfront but says that Beach Blvd, Confederation Park, Valens Conservation, and Van Wagners are all closed.

Phone: 905.546.2189, Web: http://www.hamilton.ca/phcs/beach-water-quality/default.asp

We wanted to draw this problem to your attention so that it can be addressed as quickly as possible. We fear that residents may be unknowingly swimming in contaminated waters. We have not encountered this problem in any other area we are monitoring.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Krystyn Tully