San Francisco rang in the new year with a series of atmospheric river events that had catastrophic impacts across California. These record-breaking storms beg the question: “​​What is it called when two 100-year storms hit the Bay Area in one week? Is it a 200-year storm? A statistical anomaly? Or the new normal?” – Sejal Choksi-Chugh, …

Ten years ago, Swim Guide was launched to answer the question, “Where can I go swimming?” For the past decade, our small but dedicated team has been connecting you to your local waters by providing reliable facts and figures about beach water quality. Swim Guide is the most popular beach information service in the world, …

With over 8,000 beaches, keeping Swim Guide’s photos up-to-date is a monumental task. If you are interested in lending a hand, here is how you can help from the comfort of your own home. The photo submission feature and the beach image database are part of Swim Guide’s international citizen-science effort to collect data on …

We are thrilled to announce the return of our Spotlight segment! As our Swim Guide Affiliate program continues to grow, we would like to share the exciting and diverse work that other affiliates in the community do with all of you. For this Swim Guide Spotlight, we reached out to Ray Hiemstra from Orange County …

Citizen Science is the backbone of Swim Drink Fish. Let’s take a deep dive into what Citizen Science really is, and why we at Swim Drink Fish advocate so strongly for it. 1. What is Citizen Science? Citizen Science, also called community or public science, has many definitions. This is because Citizen Science takes many …

Swim Guide is here to help you connect with water. For most people, that means delivering reliable, up-to-date information about your favourite swimming spots. During Covid-19, we have expanded our efforts to keep you safe at the beach Here’s a summary of the new features and services in Swim Guide that explain how Covid-19 has …

People are often surprised to learn that Swim Guide is a service created and managed by a small team of people at Swim Drink Fish, a Canadian charity. The project started as a simple attempt to answer the question “Can I swim in Lake Ontario?”. Today, Swim Guide is a global network of people looking …

Swim Guide’s parent organization, Swim Drink Fish, is thrilled to recognize the 100 Affiliate organizations joining Swim Guide for the 2020 swimming season. Swim Drink Fish published a news release July 23, 2020 recognizing the affiliates who contribute beach water quality data to the platform so that you can access the water safely this summer. …

Over a hundred years ago, on a steamy summer day,Chicagoans were enjoying the city’s Lake Michigan beaches. Temperature records from the 27th of July 1919 say it was a scorching 35C outside (96F). Chicago only had four municipal beaches at the time. These four beaches were in the north part of the city, far from …

This post was first published on 28 May 2020, and last updated 10 July 2020.Toronto beachesThere are 11 official city beaches in Toronto. There are lifeguards are on duty at 10 of Toronto’s beaches. These include: Bluffer’s Park Beach (Blue Flag) Cherry/Clarke Beach (Blue Flag) Kew-Balmy Beach (Blue Flag) Marie Curtis Park East Beach Sunnyside …

This post was originally written on 31 March 2020, and was last updated 28 July 2020. This page will be updated often with new information.The end of May typically marks the start of the summer at beaches across Ontario. This year, it will be an unprecedented swim season due to the measures in place to …

Hello everyone,How are you doing?We are here for you.In the face of the coronavirus virus pandemic, most of us are practicing “social distancing.” Swim Drink Fish, the organization behind Swim Guide, has adopted these practices. We’re encouraging our staff and network to always follow the advice of our health experts. This means working from home, …