Parlee Beach water quality causing worries

Residents of the Parlee Beach area are worried about what's causing all the water quality issues of late.

In the month of August, the water at the popular tourist beach has been rated poor more days than it was been rated good.

• Parlee Beach plagued by poor water quality this summer

There are several possible explanations, but none has been confirmed, and people who live there have lots of concerns.

"We know of this happening elsewhere, you know," said Tim Borlase, who has lived in Pointe-du-Chene for 40 years. "That communities have overbuilt. And these campgrounds — there's another one going up next year too — you know having all these people on the beach, they're obviously going to have an effect on the fecal content."

Having a poor water rating means there's bacteria in the water in levels above what's normal.

The bacteria the province tests for at Parlee are E. coli, and fecal streptococcus, which comes from the intestines of mammals.

The bigger question, David Joly, a microbiologist at the University of Moncton says, is how that gets in the water; it could be birds or dogs, big crowds, higher water temperatures could play a role, or rain could cause storm water runoff into Shediac Bay.

"The other beaches around Parlee Beach have not been found with such amounts so then maybe it's a direct relation with the number of people at Parlee Beach," said Joly. "I don't know if there are some elements at Parlee Beach that could help those proliferate specifically."

As for overdevelopment, Joly said that has been the cause in some other beaches that have been studied, with sewage draining into the water.

The new campground has become a hot topic, as one of its investors is Shediac MLA and health minister Victor Boudreau.

• Victor Boudreau dismisses call for Parlee Beach sign improvements

Boudreau has put his stake in a blind trust, and has promised to recuse himself from cabinet discussions about the campground.

Last week, he said existing warning signs about water quality are enough, but that's a decision Borlase said should not be up to him. Boudreau was not available Monday to respond.