UPDATED — July 26, 8:45 a.m.
The Sudbury and District Health Unit has lifted the water quality advisory for Nepahwin Beach.
Original Story
The Sudbury and District Health Unit has put up warning signs at Nepahwin beach, advising residents against taking a dip.
The warning was posted after the health unit's water quality testing revealed high levels of E. coli.
According to Holly Browne, manager of the environmental health division for the health unit, E. coli is an indicator bacteria.
"(The presence of E. coli) shows there's a potential for other bacteria in the water,” she said. “So it's not specific, but it is an indicator of fecal pollution."
Browne said the bacteria could come from the land or from animals and birds.
While the health unit isn't closing the beach, it is strongly recommending against swimming at the site, as E. coli, and other bacteria, can cause health problems.
"If they ingest the water, it can cause an upset stomach and it may cause symptoms such as diarrhea. Certainly, there's intestinal problems."
Other problems can include eye, ear and nose infections, and infections in wounds.
While the health unit tests beaches for bacteria, it doesn't test beyond determining what type and how much bacteria is present. That means it can't say what type of E. coli is present.
"There's always the potential that the (bacteria) is a harmful bacteria. We don't know that, which is why we put the warnings up."
The health unit will continue to monitor the beach.
"We will collect 10 samples each day, and once we have results on those beaches that show two days in a row with counts below an acceptable level, then we will remove the posting from the beach," Browne said.
The health unit monitors 35 beaches in the Sudbury region.
The status of monitored beaches can be found on the health unit's website at www.sdhu.com.
