2020: The Summer of Swimming
Note: get the latest updates about Toronto beaches during COVID-19 from Swim Guide here.
An open letter from Mark Mattson, Swim Drink Fish President & Waterkeeper
It has been about eight weeks since our Swim Drink Fish offices closed and we started working from home. Around 20 of us, from across Canada, meet daily on Google Hangouts to talk about how to help people find access to woods, wilderness, and water in safe and respectful ways. And how to protect and restore everyone’s right to swimmable, drinkable, fishable water.
Our purpose these days, as the hot, long summer days and nights begin in the North, is to ensure our community can walk the fine line between access and safety. For millions of Canadians, that means finding a lake or beach to swim, fish, or water ski on while keeping cool and staying healthy.
The good thing is we know a lot about mapping places and providing information to water users. From the origin of Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, we knew our goal of swimmable, drinkable, fishable water was dependent on maintaining and supporting public access to the water. We visited every port, investigated every waste site, and met with every community. We knew the Lake Ontario waterfront on both sides of the border. From Kingston, the lake’s most eastern city, to Hamilton, the most western city.
The Angus Bruce on the water in Kingston, Ontario
In the beginning, we primarily mapped waste sites. All kinds of them, discharging toxins into the lake. Our goal was to stop the waste from entering the lake. But over time, we also started mapping parks, beaches, swimming platforms, and boat ramps. Changing our goal from being against polluters to advocating for healthy connections between people and the lake.
We were asked all the time if Lake Ontario was swimmable and we had a hard time finding helpful information on beaches and water quality. We started with a beach report, identifying all 181 official Lake Ontario beaches and publishing yearly water quality reports. In time, we learned that sharing yearly water quality data was not good enough to answer the swimming question, as water quality changes like the weather, daily.
In order to improve knowledge around recreational water, we invented Swim Guide in 2011 to provide mobile access to beach locations and the most recent water quality data. Also, we provided access to yearly charts on sampling results, photo sharing tools, and pollution reporting. Swim Guide revolutionized our ability to provide the public with access and safety to water.
Swim Guide is now in 11 countries, 3 languages, and reports on over 8,000 beaches. Millions of sample results are inputted into our database.
And a few years later, we expanded our surveillance of beaches to include parks, trails, and communities with Great Lakes Guide. This platform has over 3,000 points of interest around the Great Lakes and weekly tips and suggestions.
On March 18th, I was driving back from Cochrane after visiting Moose Factory. On the radio I heard the NBA was suspending the season. It shocked me as I had been away from news and phones for five days. The next day at work we talked about how COVID-19 would affect our work.
It didn’t take long to find out. We were getting all kinds of questions about water quality, parks, and openings closing. The team sprung into action and began compiling a knowledge base of beach and park openings in Canada and the USA, as well as the best science on the impacts of COVID-19 on surface water and public health. This information is constantly evolving, so we’re updating our files daily and sharing key information on our websites and social media channels.
Get the lastest COVID-19 information and updates for parks and outdoor spaces from Great Lakes Guide.
Visit Swim Guide for the latest COVID-19 beach updates.
I also became fascinated by the potential for our sewage systems to help communities understand the spread of COVID-19 in the general population. We’ve been doing environmental surveillance work like this for years, including a recent pharmaceuticals in water study with Pollution Probe.
This summer, we plan to be back on the water to collect 500 bacteria samples on Lake Ontario, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and the Fraser River. We’re continuing the great work we started in Toronto in 2016, helping people understand water quality where they swim and paddle.
The work will look a little different this year - our volunteer programs are moving online and people will be able to help collect visual data on their own schedules, using their phones. We’ll make sure everyone who works and volunteers in the Swim Drink Fish movement is protected and respecting public health guidance during the pandemic.
The data we collect supplements government public health data, providing a better snapshot of water quality. That data helps you decide where and when you can connect with water, and learn about the issues that affect water quality at the parks and beaches you love.
Lake Ontario has always had limitations around access and safety. We have ignored these flaws for too long. There are many places where hardened shorelines, construction fill, and private property make the lake inaccessible or dangerous. This summer will test our lake’s capacity even more.
People are starved for accessible places to access the lake. The huge success of the lake’s first deep-water urban swimming pier (the Gord Edgar Downie Pier in Kingston) was not a surprise. It was the culmination of years of voices supporting access to the lake and clean water. Refuges like the pier are needed more than ever this summer. It will take creativity, work, cooperation, and respect by all to make it happen in memorable ways for all.
The Gord Edgar Downie swimming pier in Kingston, Ontario
Over the course of the last decade, more and more people have been relying on Lake Ontario for their health and wellness. The well-known places are going to be crowded with families seeking their own slice of nature. For residents who can’t travel or go camping, local beaches and parks will be invaluable. This summer will be The Summer of Swimming. Not because of our 100,000 lakes and world-renowned freshwater. But, because people will struggle to find new places to connect with water, off the beaten path, away from the crowds. We’ll be here to help.
Learn more about Blue Flag beaches here.
Government also has an opportunity to help. It can promote access to new stretches of shoreline. It can ensure water quality testing is expanded to more beaches and shoreline areas, so people can connect with water without compromising their health. It can ensure we come out of the pandemic feeling more connected to nature in our own backyards and with a greater appreciation for the way nature heals and connects us. Communities will be stronger and more resilient for years to come. And so will access and safety on Lake Ontario.
