Cloverdale Beach

Managed by North Saskatchewan Riverkeeper

CAUTION: a green status may not mean it is safe to swim due to quickly changing river conditions.

Cloverdale Beach is an accidental phenomenon that has formed right in the heart of downtown Edmonton during the construction of the Valley Line LRT bridge.

The beach stretches the length of several city blocks and boasts a view of downtown Edmonton. There is limited parking in a residential area along 98A Avenue and a challenging, unmarked footpath access that is extremely steep. Note that river currents constantly change the condition of the beach and that there is ongoing construction immediately upstream.

Cloverdale Beach first appeared in the summer of 2017. Large rock jetties have been placed in the river for bridge construction and the jetty on the southmost riverbank has created a large backwater in which a large amount of sediment was deposited during spring freshet. When river levels are moderate to low, the large stretch of sand is exposed as a beautiful beach right in downtown Edmonton! The LRT bridge is scheduled to be complete in 2020, at which time the rock jetties will be removed and the beach will be washed away.

WATER QUALITY

Met water quality standards less than 60% of the time
Historical Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on . North Saskatchewan Riverkeeper updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on at

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MONITORING FREQUENCY

SOURCE INFORMATION

Water quality samples are collected by North Saskatchewan Riverkeeper and processed by a third party environmental lab, Exova Group. Testing is conducted for E. coli, which is a bacterial indicator of fecal contamination. Federal recreational water quality guidelines advise caution when E. coli levels exceed 200 colony forming units per 100 millilitres of water.

Swimmers are advised that E. coli levels are only one of many parameters that should be carefully considered before entering the water. The E. coli data shared here is intended to serve as a helpful reference point and Swim Guide users are reminded that water quality changes quickly in moving water. As such, the data available on Swim Guide reflects water quality at the time of sampling only. In addition to E. coli levels, several other factors can affect the level of risk inherent to swimming activities. These include but are not limited to: flow levels, turbidity, intensity of recent rainfall, runoff volumes, and land use activities upstream.

In addition to water quality considerations, other physical risks are inherent to river activities including powerful currents, floating debris (such as large logs), swimming ability, and powered watercraft moving at high speeds. Because swimming and all water recreation activities involve inherent risks, North Saskatchewan Riverkeeper cannot assume liability for any injuries or damages suffered as a result of water recreation activities.

North Saskatchewan Riverkeeper is a strong advocate for many forms of river recreation including swimming and aims to provide quality information that can help prepare river users for safe and enjoyable recreation.

The following is an outline of the protocols that support our river water quality monitoring program.

Five 100 ml samples are collected each beach and submitted to Exova Group for processing. Membrane filtration is used to calculate the number of E. coli colony forming units per 100 ml of water (CFU/100ml) in each sample. Five samples from each beach are used to calculate the average (geometric mean) and a beach is posted red if the result exceeds 200 CFU/100ml. If the result is less than or equal to 200 CFU/100ml, the beach is posted green.

Results are published as soon as they are available, usually within 48 hours of sampling.

Questions regarding these protocols can be directed to Hans Asfeldt at www.saskriverkeeper.ca/?page_id=287

WATER QUALITY GRAPH