The Toronto Hubs Procedures and Sources

Water Quality Guidelines

The Toronto Hub as well as the City of Toronto follow the pre-2018 standards set by Ontario’s 2014 Provincial Water Quality Objectives, established by the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks. The pre-2018 standard states that a site fails to meet recreational water quality guidelines if the geometric mean (minimum of 5 samples) exceeds ≤ 100 E. coli/100 mL.

Field Protocol

During field visits, staff and community scientists take a minimum of five samples at each location. The samples are taken in accordance with permissive procedures outlined in Swim Drink Fish’s Standard Operating Procedures. Water Ranger’s Data is also collected at one location per sampling site each time we sample. Staff and volunteer community scientists also adhere to IDEXX Laboratories procedures and to Health Canada’s Guidelines for Canadian Recreational Water Quality, Third Edition (2012).

Analysis in the Lab

At the lab, the samples are processed in accordance with IDEXX Laboratories procedures. Colilert, a reagent used to catalyze the growth of E. coli, is applied to the samples, then they are transferred to Quanti-Trays for incubation and subsequent analysis. Data from the environmental observation and chain of custody documentation is then immediately digitized in Swim Drink Fish’s database for storage and data sharing.

After 24 to 28 hours of incubation at 35°C, the samples are analyzed for the Most Probable Number (MPN) of E.coli and total coliform units using the Quanti-Tray/2000 system. Photos are taken of the analyzed samples for digital backups of the results, and the analyzed data is digitized in Swim Drink Fish’s database. Record-keeping ensures the integrity of water quality monitoring, thus physical and digital backup copies of all data are always stored and logged.

Where we Share our Results

  • The Swim Guide

    Swim Guide is a beach and recreational water information service that connects millions of people with water each year. With both its web platform and mobile app, Swim Guide makes it easy for you to connect with water by helping you find places to go and learn the water quality conditions before diving in.

    Explore the Toronto Swim Guide Results

  • Swim Guide Open Data Portal

    Swim Guide’s open data portal shares the recreational water quality data collected by Swim Drink Fish’s monitoring hubs in an open, machine-readable format. The data is formatted to be in accordance with the Open Data Standard for the Automated Exchange of Recreational Water Quality Data.

    Toronto Hubs Open Data Portal

  • Water Rangers DataStream

    Water Rangers believes that when it comes to water, ignorance is anything but bliss. Making water quality data “open” means that people don’t have to rely on government officials or scientists to provide them with information regarding the health of their local water bodies. Instead, everyone is given the opportunity to take a look at and understand what’s going on with the water around them.

    Explore the Water Rangers Database

  • Water Quality Alerts

    Fill out the form on the Toronto Hub results page to sign up for water quality alerts for the Toronto Hub!

    Click Here

  • Toronto Annual Reports

    The annual reports summarize the year’s findings.

    Click Here

FAQs

  • Swim Drink Fish collects at least 5 samples at every site, every time we monitor. We collect samples from the same location every time, following the protocols in government guidelines.

  • Just like the weather, water quality changes daily. Swim Drink Fish community monitoring hub staff test water in the same locations at least 1-2 times a week so that the results are as up-to-date as possible. Many local governments also monitor weekly.

  • Water quality changes all the time. Water that meets government guidelines one day may fail the next day. This does not mean that the old results were wrong. It just means that conditions changed.

  • Government guidelines for water quality are all based on risk assessments. Health Canada estimates that there will be 10-20 illnesses for every 1,000 people who swim in waters that meet government guidelines. That rate of 1-2% is considered an acceptable level of risk by government officials. Once bacteria levels exceed government guidelines, the risk of contracting an illness increases.

  • There are two ways that samples can "fail” to meet government guidelines. If any single sample of 100 ml of water has 400 E. coli or more, it fails to meet government guidelines; If the geometric mean of at least 5 samples collected from a recreational water area in a 30-day period has 200 E. coli or more per 100 ml of water, the site fails to meet government guidelines. This guideline comes from the Operational Approaches for Recreational

    Recreational Water Guideline, 2018, issued by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care in Ontario. It is based on the federal Canadian Recreational Water Quality Guidelines.