By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON August 9, 2012 Water quality at the Burlington Beachway is just fine. Oakville’s Coronation Park East is still not safe – that’s been that way for some time.
The Halton Region Health Department monitors the water quality at public beaches throughout Halton. We get the information from the Region and pass it along to our readers.
Many people don’t go near the water when they go to the beach but those who do swim have the right to know the water is safe and that they are personally safe as well. Lifeguards do that job.
Beach water monitoring on August 6 revealed the following beaches are safe for swimming:
Burlington – Beachway Park
Halton Hills – Prospect Park Old Beach
Milton – Kelso Conservation Area
The following beaches are unsafe for swimming:
Oakville – Coronation Park East, Coronation Park West, Bronte Park Beach.
This is great information if you’re a regular reader of Our Burlington, but alas, not everyone reads what we have to say.
When you walk out to the Beachway there are days when you can see literally hundreds of people enjoying the water. In the past, when the water was not deemed safe by the Region, the public had no way of knowing the water was not deemed to be safe.
At one point the Region used to divide the Beachway into North and South – with no really clear dividing line between the north and the south.
On a long weekend there are far more people using Beachway Park in Burlington than the number using the beach shown above – we don’t employ lifeguards nor do we post adequate signs to explain the condition of the water. The city owes its public better service on this one.
The Region did provide a map that we posted – but then they discarded the North and South parts and just call it the Beachway – which was fine.
The problem however is that there isn’t any way for those who don’t read Our Burlington to know the water is not safe. There is a solution.
Do what other jurisdictions do; Put up signs or put up flags that tell the people what the water condition is.
On those occasions when there are literally hundreds of people using the beach – where are the lifeguards? It will cost money to hire lifeguards – which the Region or the city will do in a flash the moment there is a drowning.
Time for the city to take a hard look at the way the beach is used by the public and what the city should be providing in the way of safety services.
