Miquelon Lake Provincial Park

Camrose County, Alberta

Managed by North Saskatchewan Riverkeeper

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Miquelon beach is a very popular camping and day-tripper beach because of the close proximity to Edmonton. The beach is sandy and the water is usually clear and shallow. The water of the lake is more saline than other lakes in the region so algae is less of a concern. The beach and area has a lot of room for activities and picnicking and the gradual slope and shallow waters in the swimming area makes it popular for families with young children.

The day use area and campground are both very popular and have all of the upgraded amenities required for a day at the beach including a playground and modern WC/change rooms/showers. It is a 100-metre walk on paved sidewalk to the beach from the parking lot.

From Alberta Parks Website: Miquelon Lake is not ideal for swimming due to natural water quality issues. The lake contains naturally high levels of salts and sulfates that become more concentrated when lake levels are low like now. This diminishes water quality for swimming and contributes to odours in summer.

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COVID-19

Keep your distance from other people.

Practicing social distancing is still essential. Only go to the beach if you are able to keep 6 feet or 2 meters away from others. Follow the instructions provided by your local health authorities. If your community has asked that you remain indoors and away from others, do so. Spending a day in any crowded place is the worst thing we can do for our most vulnerable right now and will counter our efforts to curb the virus’s spread.

Water Quality

No data available
Current Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on June 10th, 2018. North Saskatchewan Riverkeeper updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on July 5th, 2018 at 4:10 PM.

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Current Weather

16°C

A mix of sun and clouds

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Monitoring Frequency

Source Information

Alberta Health Services (AHS) monitors freshwater beaches across the province of Alberta. Water samples at this beach are collected by AHS staff and processed by Alberta Public Laboratories.

Beaches are sampled on varying frequencies for Enterococcus and for cyanobacteria and microcystins (blue-green algae) during the summer months.

Water quality is monitored in accordance with the proposed Alberta Safe Beach Protocol, using the Environmental Protection Agency’s Recreational Water Quality Criteria.

Enterococcus is measured using the quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) based molecular method of testing recreational water. High Enterococcus levels can indicate fecal contamination which poses human health risks. Guidelines recommend that a water quality advisory be posted when the tests demonstrate calibrator cell equivalents (cce) surpassing 1,280/100ml.

When a Water Quality Advisory is issued, a notice is erected at the beach indicating that the location is unfit for swimming or bathing. In addition, a Water Quality Advisory is issued through the AHS website, local media.
An advisory is rescinded once water quality meets the above standards.

In addition to Enterococcus, AHS monitors blue-green algae throughout the swimming season. Algal blooms are monitored through visual observation and through testing for cyanobacteria and microcystins (toxins produced by blue-green algae).

AHS issues a Blue-Green Algae Advisory when a bloom is identified. Advisories are posted online to https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/news/bga.aspx, circulated by local media. Appropriate signage is posted around the water body (public beaches, access points, campgrounds, etc). These advisories remain in place for the duration that the health risk persists.

Swim Guide posts all advisories (enterococcus and blue green algae) that are announced. However Swim Guide is not able to share monitoring data for Alberta beaches on an ongoing basis as AHS does not share water quality test results with the public. Therefore, the swim icon will appear grey for monitored beaches due to a lack of public access to AHS recreational water quality data. Advisories will appear on the beach page as a special status red, with an ad.

Water Quality Graph