Ottawa Beaches
 

I wanted to discuss the water quality at some of Ottawa's city run beaches. For many years now I heard a lot of people around town saying that Petrie Island Beach has the worst water quality because of the down stream flow of the river. I want to know your feedback and thinking on this. I personally find Petrie Beach to be the nicest of Ottawa's beaches.

How come recently Westboro Beach has been closed for the high levels of E.coli but Petrie Beach remains open with low levels.

July 9th Beach Water Sampling Results:
Westboro: 378
Mooney's Bay: 16
Petrie Island East Bay: 24
Petrie Island River Beaches: 34

A beach is closed for swimming when the e.coli is higher than 200per 100ml of water as per Ontario water quality standard for beach water quality.

https://www.ottawapublichealth.ca/en...sults-for-2020

To be honest, that's always been my perspective as well.

Now I don't know if there's a pattern showing that the water quality at Petrie is overall better than Westboro, but I suspect the placement of water treatment plants and combined sewer outlets in both Ottawa and Gatineau might have an effect.

Here's a 12 page report I found on combined sewer overflow in the region. I have not read it yet, but it might provide some insight (?)

https://www.ottawariverkeeper.ca/wp-...and-Beyond.pdf

This could be just heresay, but from what I've heard, the combined sewer overflow in Aylmer is especially bad. And with Gatineau having their combined sewers overflow in dry weather, the potential is there for Westboro beach to have high ecoli. Does it get cleaned up through the falls?

I know after a rainfall, you can forget about all beaches, the levels go way up. We're a long way from removing all the raw sewage from the river.

Does Gatineau have any plans to divert raw sewage from the river? They've been doing some amazing work on other fronts of the environmental efforts (garbage diversion, new building regulations that include green roofs, protecting sensitive natural habitats), but I haven't heard anything in terms of reducing sewage spills.

Kudos to Ottawa for building the combined sewage storage tunnels, but that won't do anything to help Westboro Beach.

I thought the bigger issue wrt the beaches was stormwater runoff vs the occasional combined runoff. I.e. dog and goose poop more than the human variety. Am I mistaken?

I think storm runoff and bird/animal crap are the worst drivers of poor quality during swim season (and the unofficial shoulders seasons.)

Anyone know if Britannia is completely fenced in, or is there still space to sneak in a quick paddle?

Ottawa needs more beaches — and it once had them
The overwhelming enthusiasm for the NCC’s River House demonstrates the local desire to get into the water. Ottawa should make it easier.

Jordan Moffatt
Published Jun 17, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 3 minute read

Walk around Dutchie’s Hole Park in Sandy Hill and it won’t be immediately clear to you who this Dutchie is and where you can find his titular hole. The hole, it turns out, is a swimming hole — more accurately, a former swimming hole. Thousands enjoyed dipping into the Rideau River here until the city shut it down more than 40 years ago, along with other swimming spots at Brewer Park, Brighton Park, Brantwood Park and semi-official locations such as Remic Beach. With a growing population and hotter summers in Ottawa, should places like these be opened again for beach season?

Before you strap on your bathing suit, it’s worth remembering that these beaches closed for a reason: poor water quality. Dutchie’s Hole had problems with waste washing ashore, including one incident involving a pig’s head (likely sourced from a slaughterhouse upstream, though it denied responsibility). But this was just a minor issue compared to the E. coli levels. Currently, the City of Ottawa recommends against swimming if E. coli exceeds 200 per 100 ml of water (in a mean of five samples). In 1968, when the city started taking water pollution seriously, both Brantwood Beach and Dutchie’s Hole had total coliform counts over 3,000. Ten years later, the beaches had improved but would exceed safe limits by the end of summer.

With that amount of fecal content in Dutchie’s Hole, it’s no wonder citizens were advised against dipping their toes in. But time has gone by, many people have worked hard at conservation efforts, new and better pipes were built, and the water has improved. The City of Ottawa now boasts on its website that the Rideau River quality is “good to excellent.” And although it doesn’t test the exact sites of the former beaches, nearby readings suggest E. coli levels at the former beaches — and even at Dow’s Lake — are comparable to levels at the four current supervised beaches at Mooney’s Bay, Britannia, Westboro (which won’t open officially this year) and Petrie Island.

Despite this, the city doesn’t plan on adding new beaches — which means that the proportion of beaches will actually decrease from its 2021 level of one for every 266,700 residents to one for every 306,300 by 2031. This rate compares poorly with Kingston (1:13,400), Vancouver (1:62,600), and Hamilton (1:73,100) — though it is roughly on par with Montreal and Toronto (eight and 11 beaches, respectively, for their larger populations). Instead, the city is investing in more splashpads, planning to construct 35 new ones by 2031, bringing the ratio to one for every 6,800 residents (though they are mostly used by children).

Is this the right call? Splashpads are certainly easier to manage given the lifeguard shortage. Plus, it’s not as if the region is short on beaches: natural outdoor swimming is available in Gatineau Park and many provincial parks within an hour-or-two drive. And maybe the nostalgic picture of mid-century beachgoers on the Rideau glosses over the more unpleasant reality of stomach aches, ear infections and sliced-up feet.

But public opinion isn’t on the city’s side. The city’s survey on its parks plan found the idea of more local beaches had a “notably high level of support.” People are voting with their feet (or flippers) too: attendance at the city’s four beaches jumped 40 per cent between 2019 and 2022. The overwhelming enthusiasm for the NCC’s spectacular new River House demonstrates the local desire to dive back into the water.

A bigger, hotter city means Ottawa City Hall should prioritize more supervised, water-tested outdoor swimming as part of its recreation plans. In the meantime, let’s install information plaques at the former beaches to show residents what they’re missing — a “people used to swim here” project. The panel in Sandy Hill might describe a young man named Charles Haak, son of immigrants from Deutschland, whose enthusiasm for swimming in the Rideau River has been enshrined for a century. Dutchie’s Splashpad just doesn’t have the same ring to it.

Jordan Moffatt is an Ottawa writer.

https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/mo...-once-had-them

All the beaches here are kind of yucky and tepid.


(cue Uhuniau comment)

It's weird how many Ottawans are so repulsed by swimming in our entirely clean waterways which are mostly free of large-scale industrial activities. Meanwhile you go to a city like Amsterdam and it feels like all the locals are flocking to swim in all kinds of ponds, canals, and lagoons which look/feel no different than our options, but have the added consideration of heavy marine traffic and industrial activity. Not to mention in Paris, the Olympic swimming events are being held in the Seine River of all places...

Did you hear about this?

https://www.greenmatters.com/communi...he-seine-river

I saw people swimming in the Canal yesterday.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...cd6fbbb6_b.jpg

We may get an urban beach at Nepean Inlet at some point in the future. That's something, right?

Yet the beaches are constantly closed "or have warning advisories against swimming" due to high volumes of E.Coli (as was the case with Britannia this week).

Yeah not sure about the theory our beaches are clean? Monday E Coli. Tuesday clean Thursday E Coli again. How clean was it really on Tuesday?

I don't think people in Paris are flocking to swim in the Seine. The beach is popular but it's more of a scene than a swimming thing.

Interesting that River House is very popular but being past Ottawa it should be dirtier if anything than beaches further up the river that people worry about.

Ottawa needs more outdoor swimming pools, not just wading pools and splash pads.
Just look at those you can find in Montreal, Dorval, etc.

(Cracks knuckles.)

The Ottawa River had a serious pollution problem for over 100 years, both industrial and sewage. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the water quality was actually killing people.

In the late 1960s/early 70s, new public health standards came into being, and the urban beaches were failing those standards in spectacular fashion. Water testing meant the beaches were closed more than they were open, some for entire seasons, and some were shut down for good.

But also starting in the 70s, new policies and infrastructure meant the water quality started to improve. Slowly at first, then less slowly, and finally the big enchilada of the poop tunnel took care of the single biggest problem.

The city and others have data which objectively demonstrate that the river is safe, per standards, the vast majority of the time now. And even when it's not safe, it's still "safe enough". I honestly don't know that I've heard of anyone getting a rash or infection, which used to be a very common problem.

But people haven't changed their priors. The cultural "fact" that the river is "dirty" stubbornly refuses to die.

Oh well. More river for the rest of us, I guess.

No, they are not "constantly" closed or under advisory.

They really are not.

This is objectively false.

It's the same thing with weather advisories here now. 20 years ago we didn't have this kind of coddling.

Are we even 'allowed' to swim at a beach without a lifeguard today?

The hysteria this week is just weird. While it's a bit early 30+ is very normal for Ottawa. I recall on June 14th the record was 36 in 1988. It was 34 yesterday and humid but not excessively so. Meanwhile schools are being cancelled and a panic is widespread.

Ottawa has changed over the last 100 years. We didn't understand pollution back in those days. There was no air conditioning, so urban beaches were relief from summer heat.

A friend of mine, who lived near Dutchie's Hole in childhood, told me of effluent being released into the Rideau from a slaughter house just upstream. Beach users had to flee when body parts flowed through the beach. Some of those body parts also got sucked into an outdoor pool at New Edinburgh. My brother came down with a communicable disease after swimming at Brewer Park. It is no wonder all those beaches on the lower Rideau closed, all around 1970.

Ottawa beaches were filthy back in the day, and today with better pollution controls, Ottawa's priorities are not to hire adequate numbers of life guards to man more beaches. One can also say that there are not enough candidates for life guards with today's aging population.

Yeah and now we spent $300 million to avoid a few sewage overages a year. We are so much better off than we were in 1970. It's sad we never appreciate it. I wish we'd have beaches without lifeguards. I know kids can drown with parents there but I don't think 10 11 year olds are wandering around swimming by themselves anymore.

Yup! In fact, last night at Parc Mousette, the lifeguards closed the beach due to thunder in the vicinity, and the closure was in effect until they went off duty.

And once they were off duty, everyone who wanted to go back in the water went back in the water.

We need to start weaponizing the aging: there are experienced adults who would lifeguard, if the conditions were right. But we're cheap.

Every beach is a beach without lifeguards if you go at the right time of year or day. The only official beach where I wouldn't be comfortable going in without official supervision is Petrie River. I also tend to avoid the Rideau River outside of the testing season.

The 24/7 news cycle only works if there's lots of drama.

Meanwhile in Quebec City...

https://blogger.googleusercontent.co...09417734_n.jpg

https://lescoopsdelinformation-le-so...VUAY4CDP5Y.jpg

Ottawa beaches to be safety audited, after multiple drownings
Lifesaving Society set to begin audits next week

Emma Weller, Dan Taekema · CBC News
Posted: Aug 01, 2024 1:00 AM PDT | Last Updated: August 1

https://i.cbc.ca/1.6902940.168908310...beach-2023.JPG

Starting next week, all of Ottawa's beaches will undergo a comprehensive safety audit by the Lifesaving Society to identify possible risks they may pose toward residents.

Britannia, Mooney's Bay, Petrie Island and Westboro beaches will be evaluated.

Following the audit, a report will be provided to the City of Ottawa with recommendations on how to make their beachfronts safer for the public.

It comes after the death of a nine-year-old boy last month at Britannia Beach — the latest in a string of drowning fatalities at the same beach since 2020.

He died after being pulled from the water at Britannia Park on the afternoon of June 3.

"It's haunting me and I know it's haunting a lot of people — it just keeps you up at night. It's you know, what could be done," Bay Coun. Theresa Kavanagh said.

Following the drowning, the Ontario coroner's office recommended the City of Ottawa conduct a lifesaving audit of all its beaches.

"Why it didn't happen four years ago, I can't explain," Kavanagh said.

Michael Shane, safety management director of Lifesaving Society's Ontario branch, said the City of Ottawa reached out about two weeks ago with this audit request.

A year ago in July 2023 the coroner's office released a report with results from an investigation into three deaths from 2020 to 2023 at Britannia Beach.

It found all three of those drowning victims were "new arrivals to Canada" and known to be "novice swimmers."

It also found they were all standing or wading close to a "drop-off area" where the depth of the water changes quickly, from roughly half a metre to three metres.

Dan Chenier, the city's general manager of recreation, said in a statement Wednesday that filling or dredging areas of the beach's waterbed would require engineering solutions, and the closure of the beach for a full or partial season.

"It's unfortunate [the audit] has to follow tragedies that have happened," said River Coun. Riley Brockington.

The report said the third death occurred within an hour of lifeguards leaving for the day. It suggests the city should "strongly consider" lifeguard staffing at public beaches that coincides with daylight hours, among other recommendations.

"We know people are there, so why do we not have staffing that matches that need," Brockington said.

The Lifesaving Society will have their own recommendations — but it could take months.

The audit is a three-step process — a review of literature, an inspection and interviews.

Each site inspection will last about three hours, where the team will go through a checklist, take photos and measurements.

They hope to begin their work on Tuesday, weather depending, and the beaches will remain open during their inspections.

"Our preference [is] actually to see them in operation so we can see what the lifeguards are doing, if they're present. We can see what the public are doing and where they are, and it makes it I think a little more realistic and helps us identify perhaps some issues," Shane added.

Once that step is done, interviews will be conducted with at least three "personnel who have something to do with the direction of operation" at beaches, according to Shane.

That is expected to be done in October, and from there, it will be at least 60 days before the City of Ottawa will see a draft report, possibly leading into 2025.

Shane said it's been 14 years since the Lifesaving Society last audited Ottawa beaches for safety, but that it wasn't as extensive as their upcoming assessment.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottaw...ings-1.7280940

I'm never sure if people are pointing to this as a good example or a bad one.

How could that ever be a "bad" example?

It signals to me that it's a substitute for not being able to swim in the actual river.

It's also cool as hell, and I can't wait to try it myself, and I'd love to see similar facilities in the NCR as well where wild swimming isn't advisable.

But there's a reason it's an enclosed pool next to the beach, and not an actual beach.

Not that we should be using the Seine as a benchmark, but I really wish people would stop falsely claiming the Ottawa River is too dirty or even unsafe to swim in. It's really no different than swimming at beaches on Lake Ontario in Toronto, or beaches on the Pacific Ocean in Vancouver (both of which also have pollution from shipping activities to add to the mix).

But all that bacteria in the Seine is Parisian bacteria, so much classier than what the Ottawa has to offer. ...

I think the difference comes down to colour. The Great Lakes and the St Lawrence River are blue hued, if not nearly clear (the Lakes less so, the St Lawrence is quite clear).

Whereas the Ottawa River LOOKS dirty. Even though it’s likely attributable to tannins, brown water is still considered dirty and unappealing to many people unfortunately.

Silt and the countless tons of sawdust dumped into the Ottawa at Chaudière back in the day

Completely agree. I'd add though that I think that's mainly a North American opinion. In Europe you will see people swimming in all kinds of stagnant, brown-ish ponds, lagoons, etc. and no one seems to fuss about it.

Although I think what's a bigger factor than the colour is the shocking amount of unchallenged misinformation shared online and via word of mouth about things like sewage. A significant number of people firmly believe that raw untreated sewage is flowing directly into the river at all times of the day, when in reality this only occurs during overflow events (which are even less common now with the CSST project complete).

Point well taken. I would be curious to know for sure if it's because of pollution or a safety thing.

Radio-Canada the other day had a report on the Saine vs Ottawa River. Seems France is far more lenient when it comes to pollution. They tolerate I think it was 1000 E. coli per 100mL of water vs Ontario and Quebec's 200 E. coli per 100mL of water, so 5 times.

SERIOUSLY.

Even when it's "dirty" (i.e., fails to meat Ontario's public health standards of 200 e.coli thingies per fathom or whatever it is), the Ottawa River is still far cleaner than almost any major urban body of water that I can think of off hand, and as clean as any other urban body of water where there is "safe", monitored swimming.

It's one of those things where public opinion fossilized in the 1970s, and hasn't changed, and is even assimilated by newcomers to the city.

Every river has silt.

The tannins aren't really generated locally. The underlying "tea" colour, that even coarse filtering doesn't get rid of, you'll find even in "clear" rivers in remote parts of the Canadian Shield. A lot of it is simply dissolved iron.

City of Ottawa beaches closed for the season, no lifeguard supervision
"To protect yourself and your family, please do not swim at these locations or any unsupervised waterfronts."

Staff Reporter, Ottawa Citizen
Published Aug 27, 2024 • Last updated 18 hours ago • 1 minute read

City of Ottawa beaches are now closed for the season and no longer have lifeguard supervision or water-quality testing, the city announced Tuesday.

“To protect yourself and your family, please do not swim at these locations or any unsupervised waterfronts,” the city’s online advisory said.

For those still seeking swimming options or ways to cool off, more than 100 splash pads at city parks will remain open until mid-September, and there are public, family and lane swim options at indoor pools.

With the Play Free program, children and youth and accompanying adults swim for free on Saturdays, the city notice said.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local...rd-supervision

Bullshit flows fast and downhill.

Westboro Beach pavilion is reopening on June 1st!
https://westborocommunityassociation...ion-reopening/

Ottawa restaurateur John Borsten excited to open The Grand at Westboro Beach later this year

Marissa Galko, OBJ
June 2, 2025

ByWard Market staple The Grand Pizzeria will open a second location in the newly unveiled Westboro Beach pavilion this fall.

John Borsten, who runs The Grand along with other Ottawa eateries including Zak’s Diner, Metropolitain Brasserie and Starling Restaurant, said when construction was ongoing for the new pavilion, he went to take a look – not for business purposes but as a curious resident.

“I went there back in November and I was just like, ‘Wow, this is unbelievable. I had no idea what they were doing here’ … I’ve said for years we have this beautiful river flowing by and there’s nowhere to spend a dollar on it. No dining. There’s really a totally underserviced market,” he told OBJ on Monday.

Borsten decided to get in touch with the National Capital Commission about his vision for the new pavilion. Now, he’s just signed the lease for the new The Grand at Westboro Beach and, after about four months of construction, the restaurant is expected to open in late summer or early fall.

Out of all the restaurants he manages that could have expanded to Westboro Beach, Borsten said The Grand was best suited to the location.

“Pizza and pasta cuts through all the demographics. It is a concept that we already have and that we know how to do. I have people that can execute quickly and, well, it’s profitable. I just think that, with the wood oven and in this kind of setting, it fits,” he said.

Borsten said the wood-fired oven also worked since the new pavilion is zero-carbon, meaning all energy is electric.

The Grand at Westboro Beach will have all the Italian favourites available at the ByWard Market location, but Borsten said he’s open to adapting the menu to better serve the area.

“We make everything in-house (with) imported ingredients from Italy … It won’t look the same because the building of The Grand (in the Market) is 150 years old and this kiosk is brand-spanking new. It will be The Grand, but we will adjust to that location as we see fit or necessary. We’ll do whatever people want,” he said.

He said he expects to do weekend brunches as well as serve breakfast seven days a week.

“I’d like to be open for breakfast all seven days of the week but it remains to be seen with that site. No one’s ever done it before,” he said.

Given its proximity to the Kichi Zībī Mīkan, Borsten said the restaurant would be a prime location for happy hour as commuters are on their way home from work.

The NCC intends for the area to be used year-round with only a few amenities being limited to one season, such as the beach club and the beach itself. The Grand at Westboro Beach will operate all year.

Borsten said he hopes that all-day offerings will continue to bring people in, even in the winter when beach-going isn’t as popular.

“There’s a whole neighbourhood right there. It’s right on the parkway. The view is spectacular in every season … People are skiing, biking, running by that space all the time. It’d be a great spot for bikers, runners, skiers to sort of start and stop from their workout, have lunch or dinner or breakfast or a drink. It’s kind of got it all,” he said.

With 100 seats inside and 100 on the outdoor patio, Borsten said that if nothing else works out, he’ll utilize the space for events. “If nothing else, I could do weddings there two days a week and functions because it’s just a beautiful place,” he said.

https://obj.ca/john-borsten-to-open-...ach-this-year/

The Westboro project is a hit.

Ottawa Public Health defends decision to reduce water testing at beaches
Testing was daily for decades, now it will be once a week

Nkele Martin · CBC News
Posted: Jun 12, 2025 9:09 AM EDT | Last Updated: 24 minutes ago

Ottawa Public Health is defending its decision to reduce its testing of the city's beach water, amid criticism that doing so makes swimming riskier.

Until this swimming season, OPH has tested beach water quality daily but announced last month it would reduce testing to once a week starting June 21 to align with provincial standards, following a review of its beach water monitoring program.

According to Matthew Ruf, the Safe Food and Water Program manager with OPH, the shift will allow swimmers to pay attention to other factors when determining if it's safe to take a dip.

"We want people to broaden that horizon and think about those things that we can prove that are well known in science, and impact water quality," said Ruf.

Being aware of recent heavy rainfall, dead fish, algae and cloudy waters are all better indicators of water safety, he said.

Daily testing can offer misleading information, he said, because it takes at least a day for results to come back and bacteria levels in water can change within that time period.

"To have people focus in on a water result that's 24 hours old isn't real time information," said Ruf.

But Ottawa's Riverkeeper, Laura Reinsborough, said she's "deeply disappointed" by the change.

She said daily testing was the "gold standard" in the province and called the move by OPH "a huge step backwards" because it could put Ottawan's at risk of exposure to E.coli and other bacteria.

<more>

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottaw...ches-1.7558985