Black Rock Canal @ Broderick Park

Plan your trip along the Buffalo Blueway! Paddling, Walking, Fishing and more!

The park is situated at the South end of Unity Island between the Niagara River and the Black Rock Canal. A wonderful place to birdwatch, watch the sunset, or enjoy a stroll along Bird Island Pier under the Peace Bridge toward downtown Buffalo. There are picnic tables, benches and public use grills for guests to enjoy. A new snack hut serving ice cream, french fries and other snacks is now open. Flush toilets are now available for use when the snack hut is open.

Visitors should be aware of multiple permitted sewage outfalls in the Black Rock Canal and Niagara River.

The City of Buffalo declares that NO SWIMMING ALLOWED in any body of water, except for designated pools with lifeguard staff on duty. However, people are frequently observed swimming from the pier.

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Water Quality

Met water quality standards less than 60% of the time
Historical Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on May 16th, 2023. Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on May 17th, 2023 at 12:26 PM.

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Monitoring Frequency

Source Information

Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper® protects and restores our water and surrounding ecosystems for the benefit of current and future generations. We protect clean water. We restore the health of ecosystems. We connect people to water. We inspire economic growth and community engagement.

E. coli water Samples will be processed in house using Roth Biosciences R-Cards. Results are typically available 24 hours after sampling. Results are compared to the US EPA Beach Action Value of 235 E. coli / 100 mL for a single sample.

These locations are given a "Green" when a single sample is below 235 E. coli / 100 mL.

These locations are posted "Red" when a single sample exceeds 235 E. coli / 100 mL.

A location may also be posted "Grey" to indicate that water quality information is too old (more than 7 days old) to be considered current, or that info is unavailable, or unreliable (often due to changes in weather).

Waterkeeper also tests basic water chemistry parameters as part of their Citizen Science Program, Riverwatch, from May through October. To learn more or to view the most recent water quality report visit our website: https://bnwaterkeeper.org/our-impact/water-quality/

Water Quality Graph