Buntzen Lake - South Beach - West

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. The 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 at South Beach West include picnic shelters, dog run areas, canoe rentals and washrooms with potable water. No power boats are permitted on this lake.

Please follow all posted safety signs, and please don't leave any garbage or waste behind.
Respect the wildlife and don't feed any geese, ducks, bears to other wild creatures.

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COVID-19

Keep your distance from other people.

Practicing social distancing is still essential. Only go to the beach if you are able to keep 6 feet or 2 meters away from others. Follow the instructions provided by your local health authorities. If your community has asked that you remain indoors and away from others, do so. Spending a day in any crowded place is the worst thing we can do for our most vulnerable right now and will counter our efforts to curb the virus’s spread.

Water Quality

Passed water quality tests at least 95% of the time
Historical Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on October 8th, 2021. 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 October 8th, 2021 at 12:41 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