First beach closure this year in Windsor at Sandpoint Beach due to E. coli
The health unit is warning levels are high at several other beaches which are open
There's no swimming allowed at Sandpoint Beach in Windsor this week — marking it the first beach closure this year.
The E. coli count hit 1,000 at Sandpoint according to the latest water test results released by the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit. The operational guidelines for recreational water says that when the counts are above 1,000, there needs to be a closure.
The count is also high at several other beaches, which remain open because they have not met the threshold for a closure.
Mettawas Beach in Kingsville, Seacliff Beach and Point Pelee North West Beach in Leamington, Colchester Beach in Essex and Holiday Beach in Amherstburg all have warnings from the health unit, saying the water is not safe for swimming.
The health unit conducts beach water quality monitoring at nine public beaches at least once each week from June to September.
Phil Wong, the environmental health manager at the health unit, said people should not be swimming after a large rain event or when it's particularly windy, because those weather events tend to bring more contaminants into the water.
And "any time there is a closure, the beach front should be blocked off there until the order is lifted," he said.
The health unit will take another sample at Sandpoint Beach Thursday to see if conditions have improved.
Those results should be available by late Friday.
In the mean time, a beach crew from the City of Windsor is still working at Sandpoint.
"We actually have staff on site during regular operational hours, just not as many, just to warn people they shouldn't be going in the water," said Jen Knights, manager of aquatic services at the city.
She said people are normally really good about respecting the rules if there is a closure.