Swimmers being advised to use caution at Kelowna’s Rotary Beach

KELOWNA – A water quality advisory has been issued for one of Kelowna’s most popular beaches.

Rotary Beach has not been closed but signs have been posted and people can make their own choices about going in the water, a City of Kelowna news release states.

“The very young, the elderly and people with weakened immunity are the most susceptible to infection related to bacterial counts in the water,” the City says.

Swimming notices are issued when E. coli counts reach 200 units per 100 millilitres sample. Rotary Beach counts hit 420.

“We are asking the public not to swim or engage in water-related recreation activities at Rotary Beach until the water quality advisory has been lifted,” Blair Stewart, the city’s parks services manager, said in the release. “Most people would be fine, but there is that one per cent who could become ill.”

At an E. coli count above 200, about one per cent of swimmers may get stomach illness if they swallow the water. Eye, ear and throat symptoms, as well as skin rashes (not swimmer’s itch), can occur more often.

Over the past 10 days, there has been a lot of plant material on the beach and in the water.

“Beach water quality can fluctuate due to a number of different factors including currents, runoff, creek outflows, waterfowl and animal waste,” the release states.

For more information, visit kelowna.ca/parks or call the Swimming Advisory Hotline at 250-469-8455.


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Rob Munro

Rob Munro has a long history in journalism after starting an underground newspaper in Whitehorse called the Yukon Howl in 1980. He spent five years at the 100 Mile Free Press, starting in the darkroom, moving on to sports and news reporting before becoming the advertising manager. He came to Kelowna in 1989 as a reporter for the Kelowna Daily Courier, and spent the 1990s mostly covering city hall. For most of the past 20 years he worked full time for the union representing newspaper workers throughout B.C. He’s returned to his true love of being a reporter with a special focus on civic politics

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