Source Information
Porcupine Health Unit samples beaches weekly from June to the end of August. Samples are typically taken on Monday or Tuesday and results are posted 24 to 48 hours after. When E. coli bacteria exceed the provincial standards, a beach advisory is issued and warning signs are posted at the beach. Swim Drink Fish checks the Porcupine Health Unit website and updates Swim Guide during the swimming season.
As of 2018, Ontario beaches are following the Operational Approaches for Recreational Water Guideline, 2018, and the Recreational Water Protocol, 2018, for geometric mean and single-sample maximum parameters. These are now equivalent to those set out in the Guidelines for Canadian Recreational Water Quality – Third Edition, 2012: Geometric mean concentration (minimum of five samples): below 200 E. coli/100 mL, Single-sample maximum concentration: below 400 E. coli/100 mL. (These values replace the previous, more stringent Ontario standard: a geometric mean of less than 100 E. coli/100 mL.) A beach is marked Green when the geometric mean of 5 samples collected within a 30-day period is below 200 E. coli / 100 ml of water and the single sample value is below 400 E.coli/100 mL. A beach is marked Red when the geometric mean of 5 samples collected within a 30-day period exceeds 200 E. coli / 100 ml of water and/or exceeds the single sample value of 400 E.coli/100mL. A beach is Grey when reliable or up-to-date information is not available. DISCLAIMER: Historical data from 2017 and prior reflect the previous Ontario standard of a geometric mean of below 100 E. coli /100 mL. Historical data from 2018 onward reflect the new Ontario Operational Approaches for Recreational Water Guideline, 2018: Geometric mean concentration below 200 E. coli/ 100 mL and single-sample maximum concentration of below 400 E. coli /100 mL.
