As hot weather continues to bake the region, residents should be wary of which beaches they choose to take a dip because they arent all safe for swimming.

As of last week, Holiday Beach in Amherstburg was closed because of an E. coli bacteria count of 1,000 fecal coliforms per 100 millilitres, which makes the water a health hazard. West Belle River Beach in Lakeshore and Colchester Beach in Essex have E. coli readings of 100 fecal coliforms per 100 millilitres or more. Residents should avoid swimming at those beaches as the pollution can cause ear, nose and throat irritation, according to the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit.

New water samples were taken Wednesday and results should be available later today. The stormy weather seen daily since last weekend might push up the number of contaminated beaches. Dr. Allen Heimann, medical officer of health for the health unit, said high winds, storms and waves cause lake bottoms to churn and produce cloudy water, which results in higher E. coli counts.

There is no doubt that in urban areas around the Detroit River and with combined sewer overflows thats where you get the bacteria contamination, Heimann said.

Bacteria counts vary from day to day and are associated with weather events. Sometimes a beach will be closed for a few weeks and then the bacteria count gets very low.

When you look at the amount of sewage that goes into Lake St. Clair, the Detroit River and Lake Erie thats certainly the basis for the problem, he said.

While Holiday Beach was off-limits for swimming eight of 12 weeks last year, the beach was never closed. In 2010, Holiday Beach was closed one week and swimming wasnt allowed all summer. The lack of swimming affects day use of the recreation area owned by the Essex Region Conservation Authority.

When our beach is closed fewer people come, said Kevin Money, ERCAs director of conservation areas. You can still picnic, play in the sand or walk your dog. We offer a lot of other things to the general public in terms of camping and bird activities in the spring and fall.

Money said the source of E. coli contamination isnt known.

Its easy to point the finger at septic systems but that may not be the issue, Money said pointing to a provincial order 13 years ago that made area homeowners hook up to sewer plants and stop using septic systems.

Read more from the original source:

Bacteria counts high at Essex County beaches