Blue flag, clean water at Bell Park beach

The main beach at Bell Park is now among 4,000 other beaches in 49 countries to fly a blue flag from Blue Flag Canada.

The blue flag is awarded to beaches and marinas that have achieved international standards in water quality, environmental management, environmental education and safety and services.

“We are very proud to be first Blue Flag designated beach in Northern Ontario,” said Ron Henderson, General Manager of Citizen and Leisure Services.

“It demonstrates our commitment to clean, safe beaches for all of our residents to enjoy. The Blue Flag promotes tourism, health, environment, safety and sustainability in our community.”

In order to receive the Blue Flag designation, the city had to meet 33 strict criteria, said Christie Ulicny, Blue Flag program co-ordinator for Environmental Defence. When a city applies for the Blue Flag designation for a specific beach, it is audited two times a season by Environmental Defence. Those audits are submitted to several juries to ensure the criteria is being met.

“Anywhere you go around the world, when you see a blue flag flying at a beach, you know it has met this strict criteria,” she said. “Sudbury has worked hard on environmental initiatives, and has come a long way in implementing environmentally sustainable practices.

She said it's very rare that a beach would lose its Blue Flag designation, and that if anything impacted the water quality, the flag would be lowered until the situation was fixed.

"Behind each Blue Flag is a community of people who recognize the importance of protecting their beach for the benefit of the people who enjoy it and for the environment," said Brett Tryon, Blue Flag program manager, Environmental Defence. "We're so pleased to help raise the Blue Flag at Bell Park Main Beach for the first time.”

For more information on city environmental initiatives, the Lake Water Quality Program or community beaches, please visit www.greatersudbury.ca.