Beach-goers, a water advisory has been posted for Willows Beach!
On August 18th, the District of Oak Bay released a statement indicating there were high levels of bacteria in the waters at Willows Beach.
The beach is closed for swimming and other activities until further notice — signs will be posted at the beach as well.
According to Island Health’s recent beach sampling report at Willows, they detected high levels of enterococci, which can cause wound infections, UTIs, and other intra-abdominal infections.
The enterococci is currently marked at 4400 and it needs to be below 35 to be suitable for swimmers.
Environmental Health officers work with local governments to monitor our water quality — particularly at popular public beaches.
The beach sampling program generally runs from mid-May until September to ensure all visitors are well informed during the busy, warmer months.
Because Willows Beach was marked at a high level of bacteria, the water will be sampled weekly until enterococci numbers go down.
