Birch Cove Beach

Source Information

Every year the HRM monitors 19 supervised beaches during the summer months as a part of the Beaches Program to prevent potential environmental risks posed to human health and safety such as contact with various chemicals or biological materials, and physical hazards. The sampling season starts on July 1st and ends on August 31st. Trained Halifax beach program staff collect, handle and deliver water samples and associated beach documentation. Five samples are collected weekly at each beach and samples are submitted for testing every Wednesday before end of day. The water is sampled for E. coli at all locations which is a bacteria that can be found in the excrement of most warm-blooded animals as well as humans. A beach is marked Green (safe to use) when the average of five water samples collected have a mean concentration of E. coli that is equal to or less than 200/100mL, and individual water samples have a concentration of E. coli that is equal to or below 400/100mL. A beach is marked Red (not safe to use) when the average of five water samples collected have a mean concentration of E. coli that is greater than 200/100mL, and individual water samples have a concentration of E. coli that is greater than 400/100mL. When bacterial analysis results lead to closures of affected supervised beaches, they are re-sampled as soon as practical, typically the following weekday. Affected beaches will remain closed until the average level of E. coli in five water samples is equal to or less than the guideline limits (200/100mL). Visual monitoring is completed for each supervised beach to monitor for blue-green algae. Once the staff suspects the presence of blooms or mats near municipal supervised beaches and the Shubie Park Dog Beach, Public Affairs will issue public risk advisory notifications via Public Service Announcement (PSA) and Twitter. Advisories for blue-green algae include advising the public of possible cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) presence, to avoid swimming, to avoid allowing pets to enter the water, and to take additional recommended precautions. Municipal beaches are closed until the bloom or mat is determined not to pose a risk to public safety. Affected beaches are reopened once toxin levels are confirmed to remain below Health Canada's Guidelines for Recreational Water Quality (?20 ?g/L) and no new blooms appear in the area. Please contact the Halifax Regional Municipality if you have any questions at water@halifax.ca.