Buntzen Lake - South Beach - Dog Area

South Beach is at the south end of Buntzen Lake, which is north of the village of Anmore in B.C.'s Lower Mainland. The lake is a reservoir with cool waters. It's a popular spot on hot weekends, so check conditions ahead of time, or get there early to get parking and your spot on the beach. Buntzen Lake was created in the early 1900s with the construction of the Buntzen power plant, the first hydroelectric power in the Vancouver area that replaced the young city's previous steam power plant.

Amenities include picnic shelters, dog areas, canoe rentals and washrooms with potable water. No power boats are permitted on this lake.

As this lake is used to generate power, please be sure to adhere to all posted safety signs. Please remember to clean your waste or take it home with you. Respect all wildlife by not feeding them and keeping your distance.

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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

Meets water quality standards
Current Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on September 26th, 2020. Fraser Basin Council Society updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on September 26th, 2020 at 2:27 PM.

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Monitoring Frequency

Source Information

Fraser Health Authority monitors the water quality at 42 Fraser Valley beaches. Sampling is conducted during the height of swim season (May – September). Sampling days rotate on a constant basis and are taken by a number of different samplers. There isn’t always specific sample dated noted when FHA posts its test results. Fraser Health Authority recommends that Swim Guide use the posting date rather than the sample date.

Fraser Health follows the Guidelines for Canadian Recreational Water Quality. Recreational water is considered safe if the geometric mean result is under 200 E.coli/100mL. If the geometric mean exceeds 200 E.coli/100mL, a series of single sample results exceed a maximum of 400 E.coli/100mL and/or in the event of a known hazard or spill, the Medical Health Officer will make an assessment of the risk to human health.

If there is a risk to human health, a warning sign will be posted at the beach. Results are communicated on the Fraser Health website (http://www.fraserhealth.ca/health-info/health-topics/recreational-water/beach-conditions/). Fraser Riverkeeper updates Swim Guide according to these results, as soon as they become available.

Test results for Fraser Valley beaches are posted weekly. Recreational water quality for a beach is determined by E. coli counts from a laboratory approved by the BC Provincial Health Officer for Provincial Drinking Water and Microbiology Testing.

A beach is marked Green when single sample results are under 200 E.coli / 100 ML water.

A beach is marked Red when the results are equal to or above 200 E.coli / 100 ML water or a series of single sample test results exceed a maximum of 400 E.coli/100mL.

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

Water Quality Graph