Plage Parlee Beach

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Parlee Beach is a Blue Flag Beach for the 2020 season*.

Parlee Beach, home to the warmest salt waters in Canada, is one of New Brunswick’s most popular recreational areas. The beach is a part of Parlee Provincial Park, which was named in honour of T. Babbitt Parlee, the former Minister of Municipal Affairs, who died in an airplane crash in 1957. The popular beach features a supervised swimming area, restaurant, canteen, picnic area, change houses, showers, washrooms, and a playground. Throughout the summer months, there is a variety of activities that take place at Parlee Beach including volleyball, football, ultimate Frisbee, and sand sculpture competitions.

La plage de Parlee, qui abrite les eaux salées les plus chaudes du Canada, est l’une des aires récréatives les plus populaires du Nouveau-Brunswick. Cette plage fait partie du parc provincial de Parlee, qui a été nommé ainsi en l’honneur de T. Babbitt Parlee, ancien ministre des Affaires municipales décédé dans un accident d’avion en 1957. Cette plage populaire comprend une zone de baignade, un restaurant, une cantine, une aire de pique-nique, un vestiaire, des douches, des toilettes ainsi qu’un terrain de jeux. Durant les mois d’été, diverses activités ont lieu à la plage de Parlee, dont des tournois de volleyball, de football et de disque volant suprême ainsi que des concours de sculptures de sable.

*A Blue Flag beach is one that meets strict water quality and safety criteria. These beaches are certified annually as being clean, accessible, eco-friendly, and having great water quality! Swim Drink Fish is the National Operator for Blue Flag in Canada.

For more information, visit www.blueflag.ca

Photo by Stephen Downes

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COVID-19

Keep your distance from other people.

Practicing social distancing is essential right now. Follow the advice of the health experts. If your community has asked that you remain indoors and away from others, do so. Heading to the beach should only be considered an option if social distancing practices can be followed. Spending a day in any crowded place is the worst thing we can do for our most vulnerable right now and will counter the efforts to curb the virus’ spread.

For more information, please visit the World Health Organization public resource on COVID-19.

Water Quality

Passed water quality tests 60-95% of the time
Historical Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on August 25th, 2020. CCNB/Fundy Baykeeper updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on August 25th, 2020 at 1:50 PM.

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Monitoring Frequency

Source Information

This beach follows the “Water Monitoring Protocol for Provincial Park Beaches” and is in accordance with the Guidelines for Canadian Recreational Water Quality.

During the swimming season, five water samples shall be collected, as practically as is possible, on the scheduled sampling day. The Department of Environment and Local Government (DELG) is responsible for the oversight of sample collection for the purpose of compliance monitoring and ensuring proper training is provided.The samples are analyzed for enterococci and Escherichia coli (E.coli), by an accredited laboratory. The results are received by the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health (OCMOH) and interpreted based on the Guidelines for Canadian Recreational Water Quality. Upon receiving the results, OCMOH posts the results online. Meanwhile, the Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture (THC) is responsible for physically updating Informative Beach Signs at designated areas.

For Enterococci, the guidelines state that the geometric mean of the 5 samples must be equal to or less than 35 Enterococci/100 ml and all single samples must be equal to or less than 70 Enterococci/100 ml. For E.coli, the geometric mean of the 5 samples must be equal to or less than 200 E.coli/100 ml and all single samples must be equal to or less than 400 E.coli/100 ml. Test results are expressed as Most Probable Number (MPN) of cfu (colony forming units) per 100 ml. It can take up to 48 hours between the sample collection date and the posting of results. This is due to the time is takes to collect the samples, send them to the lab, and complete the analysis. On occasion, the collection of all required samples may not be possible due to weather/environmental conditions, safety concerns or other unforeseen circumstances beyond control.

The Conservation Council of New Brunswick is responsible for communicating the results daily to Swim Guide. Please note that the Conservation Council and Swim Guide are not affiliated with DELG, OCMOH, or THC.

The beach is marked Green on Swim Guide when the geometric mean and all single samples meet the criteria for both Enterococci and E.coli. The beach is marked Red on Swim Guide when the geometric mean or a single sample exceeds the criteria for Enterococci and E.coli. A beach will also be marked. The beach is marked Grey on Swim Guide when there are no current results available on the government website. Please note that the protocol is subject to annual review, thus content on Swim Guide will be updated accordingly.

For more detailed information on water quality monitoring in New Brunswick, please see the official page: http://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/departments/ocmoh/health_advisories/beachadvisories.html

Water Quality Graph