Sunset Beach

Source Information

Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) monitors the water quality at 114 sites across 41 Vancouver-area beaches. Sampling is conducted during the height of swim season (May – September) and for the annual Polar Bear Swim (December). Swim Drink Fish is monitoring Kitsilano Beach for the winter season of 2022/2023, after Vancouver Coastal Health is finished monitoring for the year. VCH follows the Canadian Recreational Water Guidelines. Recreational water is considered safe if the geometric mean result is under 200 E.coli/100mL based on the previous last five samples or a single sample limit of under 400 E.coli/100mL. Should the results exceed the guidelines or in the event of a known hazard or spill, the Medical Health Officer will make an assessment of the risk to human health. If there is a risk to human health, a warning sign will be posted at the beach stating “This Water is Contaminated and Unsafe for Swimming.” Results are communicated on the Vancouver Coastal Health website. Data is shared on Swim Guide according to these results, as soon as they become available. Data is typically available on Thursdays or Fridays Recreational water quality for a beach is determined by E. coli counts from the Greater Vancouver Regional District Water Quality Laboratory. A beach is marked Green when geometric mean results are under 200 E.coli/100 mL and single sample results are below 400 E.coli/100mL. A beach is marked Red when the geometric mean results are equal to or above 200 E.coli/100 mL water or single sample results are above 400 E.coli/100 mL. A beach is marked Grey when there are no current results or there is no available information