Monday, March 18, 2024

Island Health expands bacteria advisory for Elk/Beaver Lake

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Island Health and the CRD have just issued the third health advisory for Elk/Beaver Lake this month.

In the newest advisory, Island Health is advising beach goers to avoid swimming in the lake due to an unsafe amount of bacteria in the water.

The advisory specifically highlights the Eagle beach and Hamsterly beach areas of the regional park

See also: Construction of three new washrooms at Elk/Beaver Lake Regional Park begins today

“A beach advisory indicates the water may be unsafe for swimming and recreational activities,” said Island Health in a statement.

“As a precautionary measure, it is NOT recommended for people or pets to enter the water.”

Signs are expected to be installed along the beach soon once further water sampling is conducted.

Previous warnings

The first health advisory placed on Elk/Beaver Lake this month was issued on August 10th.

In that warning, the CRD closed the Beaver Beach section of the lake to swimmers due to a bloom of blue-green algae detected in the water.

See also: Beaver Lake closed to swimming after algae bloom detected

Blue-green algae is a type of toxic algae that usually appears as a visible blue-green sheen. It can cause a range of symptoms, like headaches and abdominal pain in humans, and can lead to lethal liver damage in dogs.

The section of the lake remains closed to swimmers until lab tests determine acceptable levels of algae in the water.

One week later, on August 16th, Island Health and the CRD issued health advisory for the Hamsterly Beach area of Elk Lake.

Like the most recent advisory, water samples from this section of Elk Lake showed “bacteriological counts exceeding acceptable guideline limits”.

See also: Island Health issues bacteria advisory for Elk Lake

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Adam Chan
Former Staff Writer at Victoria Buzz.

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