Three additional Vancouver Island beaches have been added to Island Health’s beach advisories list, deeming them unfit for swimming.
On July 7th, two Lantzville beaches made the beach advisory list, as well as one beach in Ladysmith due to either bacterial contamination or blue-green algae blooms.
Transfer Beach (north) in Ladysmith was discovered to have high enterococci levels, so Island Health and the Capital Regional District (CRD) have declared the water unfit for humans or pets to swim in.
According to BC HealthLink, enterococci are a bacteria that are commonly found in the human gut and feces, and can also be found in other areas like the mouth and skin.
This bacteria is often used as an indicator of fecal contamination.
Enterococci are usually harmless, but they can cause infections, particularly in vulnerable individuals.
Developing an enterococcal infection can manifest as sepsis, a urinary tract infection (UTI), and infections of the heart and brain.
Similarly to Transfer Beach, Lantzville’s beach access at Sebastian Road, Harper Road and Benwaldun Road have all been deemed unfit for swimming because of high enterococci levels.
These three beaches are just the latest to have been found unfit for swimming and water recreation. Currently, Island Health has 10 beaches on their advisory list.
The other beaches that have had advisories issued for them are: Prior Lake, Elk Lake Hamsterly West, Elk Lake Eagles Beach, Elk Lake Hamsterly East, Ross Bay Beach, Beaver Lake and Art Mann Park.
In late June, it was announced that some other beaches were unfit for water recreation, including Sayward Beach and Willows Beach at Estevan Avenue, but those advisories have since been lifted.
Art Mann Park’s bacterial contamination advisory is the oldest, dating back to 2015, but remaining active all the while.
To see Island Health’s updated list of beach advisories, click here.
