Swimming now allowed at new Dow's Lake dock

Grab your goggles and water wings, Ottawa: Swimming is now permitted from a recently installed dock at Dow's Lake.

New buoy lines marking off the deep-water swim area were unveiled Thursday, with a separate lane coming soon for swimmers "wishing to get their laps in," the National Capital Commission (NCC) said in a news release.

The accessible dock was installed on the lake early last month, along with Muskoka chairs, bike racks and native plants.

At that time, the NCC said it was waiting for the results of water quality testing to see if a pilot project allowing swimming would be possible.

On Thursday, they said testing carried out over the past year had shown the lake's swimming area has "consistently" met or exceeded health and safety guidelines.

"We tested more than 140 different parameters for contaminants, for pesticides, for petrochemicals, for a lot of the things that people worried about. And we didn't see those there," said Jen Halsall, the NCC's real estate adviser.

"The data is doing the talking. It's not Jen from the NCC saying, 'Get in there!' It's really the lake telling us what's possible."

The Ottawa Riverkeeper will test the water five times a week, Halsall said, with results posted throughout the summer on the NCC's website.

4 metres deep

Swimming will be unsupervised this summer, the NCC said, with no lifeguards on duty.

The unsupervised area is part of the natural lakebed, meaning it should be used by experienced swimmers only, according to the NCC's website.

"Our water depth starts at four metres, and it gets deeper from there," said Halsall, adding that the dock has plenty of ladders, grab bars and other safety features.

According to those who jumped in Thursday, Dow's Lake should prove enticing for Ottawans seeking somewhere to cool off this summer.

"The water's so fresh! And it's warm, and it's clean," said Ottawa Centre MP Yasir Naqvi, who was on hand for the unveiling. 

"So come and swim."