Six beaches unsafe for swimming in Durham, including both Oshawa beaches

Last week’s hot and humid weather may have driven Durham residents to local beaches to cool off, but it also drove up bacteria counts, causing six of the Region’s 14 public beaches to be posted this week as unsafe for swimming.

Both Oshawa beaches – Lakeview Beach East and Lakeview Beach West – as well as two of three Clarington beaches – Bowmanville Beach East and Newcastle Central Beach – have been posted as unsafe, as has Frenchman’s Bay East in Pickering as Lake Ontario’s waters were hit particularly hard.

Kinsmen Beach on Lake Scugog was also posted.

Declared safe to swim this weekend are Bowmanville Beach West, Whitby Beach, Paradise Beach in Ajax and Frenchman’s Bay West on Lake Ontario; Beaverton Beach North, Beaverton Beach South and Thorah Centennial Park on Lake Simcoe; and Elgin Pond in Uxbridge.

Durham Region Health Department staff test the water at all 14 beaches each week.