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Report on 4 Mile Lake Water Quality

based on "HALIBURTON KAWARTHA PINE RIDGE DISTRICT HEALTH UNIT Reports"

by: Chris Ostrovski [August 2011]

see the 2005 Report

see current HKPR beach testing results for CoKL

see 'why are beaches posted?'

Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge District Health Unit

Four Mile Lake continues to have some of the most pristine water of the Kawartha- even so there are postings once every so many years at the public beach.

Public beaches are posted when the water contains high levels of bacteria (germs) called Escherichia coli (E.coli). High amounts of E.coli in the water is an indicator of the presence of more serious, illness-causing organisms. Problems can range from minor eye, skin, ear, nose and throat infections to more serious illnesses such as gastrointestinal sickness.

Sometimes a beach will be posted due to other environmental contaminants that could affect the health and safety of bathers. These include items such as floating garbage, oils, scum, excessive weed growth, algae blooms, bad odors, or murky water.

HKPR is responsible for testing and Posting (“Beach Closed”) any beach in the City of Kawartha Lakes. Beaches are posted when E. coli levels exceed 100 units.

June 06,2011 - 10
June 13, 2011 - 15.2
June 20, 2011 - 54.3
June 27, 2011 - 10
July 04, 2011 -11
July 11, 2011 - value not provided
July 18, 2011 - 16.43
July 25,2011- value not provided
August 01,2011 - value not provided
August 08,2011 - 148
August 15, 2011 - 11.48

The FML beach was posted as a result of high E.coli reading at this location on August 08. The posting was removed shortly thereafter on re-testing when the E.coli levels were found to be back to normal ( about 10 - 15units) - FOUR MILE LAKE CONTINUES TO HAVE SOME OF THE CLEANEST WATER IN THE KAWARTHAS.

It is suspected that after weeks of heat and little rain the area received lots of water – washing all the dog, cat , bird, human etc. doodoos into the lake. Little wonder that the E.coli levels were higher. Further, the Public beach sits at the bottom of three paved downhill converging roads. the last time something similar occurred was in the summer of 2005 under similar circumstances.

by: C. Ostrovski

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The monitoring of recreational water quality at public bathing beaches is a  mandated program under the authority of the Mandatory Health Programs and Services Guidelines as authorized by the Health Protection and Promotion Act.

All such public beaches are monitored for bacteriological quality on a weekly basis over the bathing season (5 samples each week/minimum 9x per season) by Environmental Health Officers of the Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge District Health Unit.

Contamination sources are monitored over the bathing season to determine and assess potential pollution sources and their potential impact on the suitability of beach water for public bathing purposes. Contamination sources include but are not limited to the following:
· Streams
· Private sewage disposal systems
· Sewage treatment plants
· Combined or storm sewer outlets
· Industrial outlets
· Sanitary landfills
· Open dumps
· Bird populations
· Animal enclosures
· Feed lots
· Soil erosion areas
· Marinas
· Bather loads
· Beach aesthetics (algae, dead fish)
· Meteorological (rainfall, water currents, temperature)

Laboratory results are processed at the Public Health Laboratory in Peterborough and enumerated for E. coli bacteria. E. coli are bacteria found in the gastro-intestinal tract of warm blooded animals including humans. They indicate recent faecal pollution which potentially is a contaminate of the beach environment. Faecal matter, particularly that which is human in nature has the potential of carrying disease causing micro-organisms. E. coli bacteria is an indicator of faecal contamination. With such increases in the levels of E.coli in bathing beach water(>100 E. coli/100mL) comes an increased risk to bathers of acquiring infections of the GI tract, eye, skin and ears.

Environmental Health officers will consider posting a public bathing beach when the geometric mean taken from 5 samples is >100 E. coli per 100mL.

Four Mile Lake Beach is one such public bathing beach which is monitored regularly over the bather season. Historically this beach has yielded satisfactory bacteriological results with ONE beach posting over these two years. Below are the results from these bathing beaches for the years 2004 and 2005. The public bathing beach was posted once in 2005, in part as a result of heavy rainfall 24 hrs prior to sampling. See Table 1.1 below.

Table 1.1 Laboratory Results of Bacteriological Water Quality taken from Four
Lake Beach 2004 and 2005(Expressed as E. coli cfu's/100mL).

Sampling Date Geometric Mean

Further information related to weekly beach postings can be accessed through the Health Unit's website at www.hkpr.on.ca.

FMLA
There could be a number of reasons for the cause of eleveated E.coli levels at the public beach resulting in the single posting this year. In conversation with the Health Unit, it was said that fecal matter could have come from animals and fowl (dog, bear, bird (duck) etc.) on or near the ramp. Once the rains came, the heavy run-off, could have contaminated the sampling area. Though sampling was correctly carried out, the initial June sampling was made from shore and not off the public dock as per usual; the dock was not in the water at that time.

The subsequent results for the balance of the summer indicate that FML has consistantly good water quality well below the 100 mark.

FMLA tried to obtain comparative data from other local lakes to show that FML has consistantly high quality conditions in the lake. However, these data were not made available by "press time".

[Original text prepared by: Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge District Health Unit]

by: C. Ostrovski

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