Labour Day marked the end of the 2010 swimming season on Lake Ontario. That means it is time for our annual beach report. We have compiled statistics for 99 beaches in the Lake Ontario watershed. Here are our preliminary results:

Five most frequently posted beaches:

1. Jones Beach, Niagara: Posted 94% of summer
2. Bayfront Beach, Hamilton: Posted 90% of summer
3. Rotary Beach, Kingston: Posted 83% of summer
4. Bronte Beach, Halton: Posted 80% of summer
5. Queen’s Royal Beach, Niagara: Posted 68% of summer

There were 30 beaches open 100% of the time this summer.

Click here to view a pdf list of all 99 beaches, ranked by how often they were posted.
Click here to access an excel spreadsheet that allows you to sort by region.

Five of eleven regions started sampling by June 1

In Ontario, the official swimming season starts June 1. Municipal health departments are supposed to begin monitoring water quality June 1. On that day, Hamilton, Hastings & Prince Edward County, Niagara, and our provincial parks had water quality information available to the public. Halton collected samples on June 1 and reported to the public on June 2. Toronto first reported sample results on June 7. Durham, Northumberland, and Peel started to report sample results on June 11. Kingston & Frontenac did not have water quality information available for the first month of the three-month swimming season (June 30).

Monroe County in NY State opened its swimming season on June 21.

Three of eleven regions publish E. coli levels

Of the eleven beach monitoring authorities we tracked, only three publish actual E. coli results that allow you to see how a beach compares to the provincial water quality objective of 100 cfu/100 ml. Only Toronto and St. Catharines publish that information on a daily basis.

We will publish a more detailed beach report – including comparisons to previous years – later this fall.