All that rain means fewer beach days for southern Quebec

After torrential rainfall and floods followed by blistering heat, some Montrealers slapped on their swimming trunks and hit the waters at the city's beaches.

But those planning to take a dip at Jean-Doré Beach on Montreal's Île Sainte-Hélène yesterday found the way blocked off by signs declaring the beach closed for the day.

On Thursday, the beach remained shut for a second day. 

The culprit? A bacteriological contamination.

Environment and Climate Change Canada is forecasting more heavy rains Friday into Saturday.

With high-intensity storms and extreme heat creating the conditions for future contaminations, some experts expect signs sectioning off Montreal's beaches may become a more common sight.

"There have been a lot of intense storms and with that comes contamination," said Sarah Dorner, professor at Polytechnique Montréal in the department of civil, geological and mining engineering.

"With climate change, we do expect that there will be storms that are of higher intensity," said Dorner.

Overflowing sewers systems is one way contaminations are borne, but although contamination is usually short-lived, multiple storms in succession mean it takes longer for bodies of water, like lakes and rivers, to cleanse themselves, she says.

At Jean-Doré Beach,  Quebec's Environment and Fight against Climate Change Ministry has people on the ground testing the water and sending the samples back to the laboratory for analysis, a process that takes one or two days, said Frédéric Fournier, a ministry spokesperson.

But some believe waiting that long for a result can have toxic repercussions.

Daniel Green, co-president of the Quebec environmental group the Société pour vaincre la pollution, says the province's municipalities need to get serious about investing in rainwater and water-quality testing infrastructure. 

"We need to manage our rainwater better, to avoid [it] getting into our sewage systems," said Green.

He says municipalities in Quebec need to start building water retention basins instead of parking lots. That will prevent rushing floodwaters from overwhelming sewer systems and spreading harmful bacteria, said Green.

"If the rainwater doesn't get into the sewers, the sewers won't overflow, and our sewage will not end up in the waters we swim in. That's the long-term plan. In the meantime, we have to increase quick testing," he said.

Warm weather means bacteria in the water may multiply and what was safe in the morning may become dangerous as the day evolves.

"This is why cities like Montreal need quick and efficient testing systems to be able to find out if the water is clean enough in our beaches in 15 minutes … but the city of Montreal has not invested in these systems."

Although Green notes that some boroughs like Verdun have opted for quick-testing systems, he says other parts of Montreal have not. 

"We can't play around with bacterial contamination in our water. It's better to shut the beach down to avoid kids getting very, very sick."

The Quebec Environment Ministry says people can visit its website to check water quality at beaches and lakes before heading out for water activities.