Whiffin Spit

Managed by Surfrider Foundation, Vancouver Island Chapter - BWYTF

Accessed off of Whiffen Spit Road, Whiffin Spit Beach, part of Quimper Park in Sooke, BC, is a naturally formed spit that has been reinforced and well-maintained to allow for public access. To one side of the Spit is the beautiful, protected Sooke Basin and to the other side, the open waters of the Juan de Fuca Strait.

A leisurely 30-minute walk takes you to the point where you can enjoy the scenery and watch the mesmerizing breakwater. Wooden benches situated along the path offer the perfect opportunity to sit back and take-in the natural beauty of the Vancouver Island south-west coastline.

Courtesy of Discover Sooke.

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Water Quality

No data available
Current Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on April 4th, 2017. Surfrider Foundation, Vancouver Island Chapter - BWYTF updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on April 4th, 2017 at 9:31 PM.

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Monitoring Frequency

Source Information

Surfrider Vancouver Island’s Blue Water Task Force (BWTF) monitors 15 saltwater beaches and 4 freshwater beaches around Victoria, BC. Surfrider Vancouver Island volunteers collect and process water samples.

BWTF monitors sites around Victoria, BC year-round. Currently, BWTF is sampling (on average) 1 site every two weeks. They rotate the sites, so each one gets sampled on a regular basis, but they give priority to known or suspected problem sites.

Samples are typically collected on Saturdays, Sundays or Mondays, but Surfrider volunteers may collect samples on other days of the week depending on volunteer availability. Surfrider updates Swim Guide with new results as soon as test results become available, approximately 24-48 hours after sampling.

Surfrider’s BWTF utilizes the standardized EPA criteria of 104 MPN/100 mL for collecting and analyzing saltwater samples. The test results are expressed as Most Probable Number (MPN) of Enterococcus cfu (colony forming units) per 100 mL by using the IDEXX Quanti-Tray/2000 MPN Table.

Results are posted shortly after the lab results are available (approximately 24 hours after sample collection). Results will be communicated through the Swim Guide app and website. Results tables are also available on the Surfrider Foundation's Blue Water Task Force website at http://www.surfrider.org/blue-water-task-force/chapter/41.

A saltwater beach is marked Green when single sample results are under 104 Enterococci / 100 mL water.

A saltwater beach is marked Red when the results are equal to or above 104 Enterococci / 100 mL water. If a sample exceeds the standard, the site is given priority for re-testing.

A beach is marked Grey when there are no current results or there is no available information.

Water Quality Graph