Port Perry beach posted as unsafe; Durham’s other 13 beaches get go-ahead for swimming

Just one of Durham Region’s 14 public beaches has been posted as unsafe to swim by Durham’s Health Department, which conducts weekly tests throughout the summer as part of its beach monitoring program.

Tests carried out at all Durham Region beaches include testing water samples for high levels of bacteria and, in particular, e-coli, to let beach visitors know which beaches are safe for swimming.

Kinsmen Park beach in Port Perry, located at Palmer Park (Water Street and Mary Street) has been posted as unsafe.

Durham’s other 13 beaches are listed as safe for swimming, including Paradise Beach in Ajax; all three Lake Simcoe beaches near Beaverton (Beaverton North, Beaverton South and Thorah Centennial Park); all three Clarington beaches (Bowmanville East, Bowmanville West and Newcastle Beach Central); both Lakeview Beach East and Lakeview Beach West in Oshawa; Frenchman’s Bay East and Frenchman’s Bay West in Pickering; Whitby Beach and Elgin Pond in Uxbridge.

With the shallow waters of Lake Scugog conducive to the build-up of e-coli, Kinsmen Park beach has been posted each week since the program got underway this year a month ago. The three Beaverton beaches had been posted for unsafe for the previous two weeks as well but passed the test this week.