Lake Country swim advisory

Photo: tripadviser.ca

Beasley Park

It's going to be a hot one but Lake Country residents may want to think twice about swimming at some of the beaches in their area.

Swim advisory signs have been posted at beaches in Reiswig Regional Park and the adjoining Beasley Park on Wood Lake due to poor water quality.

The Interior Health Authority made the recommendation, according to the District of Lake Country's website.

“A swimming advisory is a notice to swimmers that bacterial levels are currently higher than those allowed in the guidelines for Canadian recreational water quality. The maximum allowable number of E. coli bacteria in recreational water is 200 per 100-millilitre sample. IHA recomends an advisory when the bacterial counts geometric mean is high over a period of multiple samples,” stated a release on the website.

The release said that once E. coli reaches 200 units per 100 millilitre sample it’s expected that one per cent of bathers may develop gastrointestinal illness if these bacteria are ingested.

Other symptoms that can develop include skin rashes (swimmer’s itch excluded) and eye, ear and throat symptoms. The very young, the very old and people with weakened immunity are the most susceptible.

Swimmers are advised to:

• Avoid swallowing lake water
• Avoid swimming with an open cut or wound
• Avoid swimming for 24-hours after a significant rainfall
• Stay away from the water if you are experiencing digestive or intestinal problems
• Wash your hands before handling food