Minister promises new Parlee Beach water-quality regime after public misinformed
'Breakage' in system discovered after CBC reports showed discrepancies between lab results, public ratings
The New Brunswick government will update the water quality testing and rating system by beach season after a "breakage" in the system resulted in incorrect swimming conditions being reported for Parlee Beach last summer, Environment Minister Serge Rousselle announced Monday.
Rousselle admitted there were three weeks when the water quality at the province's most popular beach should have been rated poor, and it wasn't, putting beachgoers at risk for illness and disease.
The rating errors came about because the results of the three bacteria level tests done in the Shediac Bay watershed at the beginning of every week were averaged out "for one reason or another," instead of the worst one being used to determine the rating, Rousselle said.
"There was effectively a mistake done," he said during a news conference in Moncton. "So basically there was no … order to change the system. It is just that somebody by mistake did change the system."
- Parlee Beach staff followed water-quality guidelines, says Boudreau
- Tourism officials won't answer questions about Parlee Beach discrepancies
The announcement comes after a series of reports by CBC News about discrepancies on 17 days between water quality lab test results for Parlee Beach and the public ratings posted by park staff.
Tourism Department documents, obtained by local residents through right-to-information requests, showed the fecal bacteria levels at Parlee were high enough to pose a health risk to children and the elderly on 45 days last summer, but beachgoers were only informed the water quality was poor on 28 days.
I heard many explanations, so I cannot tell you the exact reason.- Serge Rousselle, Environment minister
Rousselle credited the media reports with flagging the problem and prompting the review that discovered the incorrect averaging system had been used.
He could not, however, explain why the process, which dates back to 2001, changed last summer.
"What I can tell you is that people thought they were following the protocol. … And as I said, for one reason or for another, because I heard many explanations, so I cannot tell you the exact reason." he said.
Asked whether the person or persons responsible will face any consequences, Rousselle said the government is focused on ensuring the health, safety and security of beachgoers and on ensuring Parlee Beach continues to attract tourists.
Seeking source of contamination
To that end, officials from three departments — Environment, Health and Tourism, Heritage and Culture — are looking for ways to improve the current monitoring system and will be seeking public input, starting this month, said Rousselle.
He expects the changes to be announced in the spring and implemented by June.
The government also wants to improve communication with the public about water quality results, he said. A new website, called Parlee Beach Water Quality, was launched on Monday. Other possibilities include posting results online and increasing on-site signage.
In addition, the government is collaborating with academic and private-sector experts to identify sources of contamination throughout the watershed, said Rousselle.
A project manager has been hired by the government to oversee these initiatives, he said.
'Significant number' of people won't be visiting
Tim Borlase, who owns a home in Pointe-du-Chêne and is a member of a group of concerned citizens called the Red Dot Association Shediac Bay, said he is pleased the government has "finally indicated that they consider it an important issue and how it does affect human health."
"It's been a long haul and it's been very difficult to impress upon government the seriousness of this situation," he said.
Borlase suspects fears about the potential impact on tourism spurred the government to act.
"I think they're now aware there are a significant number of people that are saying they won't be visiting or vacationing in the Pointe-du-Chêne, Parlee Beach, Shediac area this summer, so I think that's got people a bit worried about this whole situation escalating."
The group, which obtained 1,500 signatures on a petition forwarded to government, gathered "quite a bit of anecdotal evidence" that some people were sick during the summer months, and their symptoms coincided with those commonly caused by poor water quality conditions, said Borlase.
"It's a range. Some rashes, some breathing issues. A number of people had some skin lesions. Even we heard today, there were even some dogs affected with irritations on their skin," he said.
Borlase noted there is no way to say with certainty whether the water caused the illnesses, particularly since the doctors or health clinics people went to see wouldn't have had any reason to suspect water quality problems.
"People have been communicating throughout Canada and to the tourists that regularly come that the water quality at Parlee Beach is questionable and people are not willing to take that risk, especially people with children," he said.
"They come to Parlee Beach to swim and they want to be sure that it's safe for their kids to swim."
Borlase said he has also spoken to area cottage owners who are upset because the beach is the reason they chose to locate there and if the beach is "not available to them, there' s no reason for them to stay."
'A start'
He describes the government's announcement as "a start," but finds the plan short on details and believes the proposed timelines for changes are ambitious.
He wants to see the government to commit to following federal guidelines, continue sampling throughout the summer months, and add a designation that would actually close the beach "so people would be aware how serious the level of contamination was."
Last month, Health Minister Victor Boudreau disputed the 17-day discrepancy and said park staff followed the guidelines set out by the province.
But he announced the government had created a multi-department committee to review water-quality guidelines and come up with recommendations in time for the next tourism season.
The guidelines allow Parlee Beach to remain open when its E. coli and fecal bacteria levels would close it to swimmers under tougher federal guidelines.
New Brunswick came up with its own standards for determining what levels of fecal bacteria — human and animal waste — should merit good, fair or poor ratings.
With files from Jill English