High E. coli prompts swimming warning at Ambleside Beach

High E. coli levels have triggered a public swimming warning at Ambleside Beach in West Vancouver, while three Vancouver beaches are also showing elevated E. coli counts.

The latest data published by Vancouver Coastal Health shows a monitoring station at Ambleside Beach registering 840 MPN (most probable number) of E. coli per 100 millilitres of water. 

According to the website, repeat single samples exceeding 400 E. coli/100 mL or collections of samples averaging over 200 E. coli require beach operators to post a "not suitable for swimming" notice. 

In Vancouver, three West End beaches — Sunset, Second and Third — are all showing high E.coli counts.

According to the Vancouver Coastal Health website, measuring E. coli is an effective way to determine beach water quality.

"E. coli is used as a fecal indicator to determine if beaches require a not suitable for swimming advisory," it says. 

CBC reached out to Vancouver Coastal Health but did not hear back by time of publication.

Broken sewer main floods streets of Vancouver’s Olympic Village

5 months ago

Duration 2:13

Many residents in Vancouver's Olympic Village woke up this morning to an unusual smell. It was from a burst pipe that leaked raw sewage onto the street, draining into the city's catch basins that feed into False Creek. As CBC’s Janella Hamilton reports, it comes a day before thousands of dragon boaters are set to compete on the water.

On Friday a broken sewer main in Vancouver's Olympic Village flooded streets with several inches of effluent that also ran into False Creek, not far from the three beaches.

E. coli is a sub-group of fecal coliform, a type of bacteria present in the intestines and feces of all warm-blooded animals and humans.

Possible risks of swimming in water with a high E. coli count can include gastrointestinal upset, skin irritation or infection, and upper respiratory disease.