High E. coli levels prompt water advisory for Vancouver’s Sunset Beach
Vancouver Coastal Health has issued a water quality advisory for Sunset Beach.
The Vancouver Park Board is advising people to stay out of the water at the beach.
The water has elevated bacteria levels, making the swimming area “not microbiologically suitable for swimming.”
The advisory comes after a large raw sewage leak in the Olympic Village last Thursday. The sewage ran into Vancouver’s False Creek.
Five days after the leak, data showed E. coli levels in parts of False Creek surged to nearly 13,000 per 100 millilitres of water, 55 times the level that would normally trigger an investigation.
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However, when Global News inquired, Vancouver Coastal Health said it doesn’t believe the elevated levels of E. coli at Sunset Beach are due to the sewage leak.
E. coli is also found on vegetables or beef and typically comes from human or animal fecal matter. It can cause gastrointestinal illness, with symptoms including diarrhea, nausea and vomiting.
Currently, Sunset Beach is the only beach in Vancouver with a no-swimming advisory. It is unclear how long the advisory will last.
Ambleside Beach in West Vancouver is also closed to swimming due to elevated E. coli levels.
