North Sydney woman paying for own testing of once-popular swimming spot

A Cape Breton woman remembers seeing photographs of a local beach from back in its heyday, and wonders what it might take to bring it back to its former glory.

Holly Kitamura lives in North Sydney, not far from Indian Beach. She said when her parents were growing up, it was the place for concerts and swimming.

Some swimmers still go for dips in the water, which has a history of high bacteria levels, but there was a time when it was packed with beachgoers.

"It's a lovely beach," said Kitamura. "It would be so nice to get it like that again."

For a decade, the beach was supervised by lifeguards and its water tested regularly. But lifeguards were pulled around 2006 after the water repeatedly tested high for bacteria.

Testing on her own

Kitamura took her own money and had the salt water tested for enterococci last summer in mid-August. The same type of bacteria closed the beach and is typically found in the gut and bowel of humans and animals.

She tested the water again in June and this month with the same result — no presence of bacteria was found. To pay for the expense, Kitamura has started her own fundraiser. 

"I know growing up myself that there was a stigma that the North Sydney harbour is not safe to swim in," said Kitamura.

"[I want] to try to prove that it is safe and get more people back to a nice booming beach, like it used to be when my dad and mom grew up."

Across the province, the Nova Scotia Lifeguard Service supervises and tests the water at 24 beaches from Ingonish to Yarmouth.

The number of times beaches are tested each summer depends on their risk of contamination.

"That would be the location, possible outfalls, possible drainage into the beach," said NSLS director Paul D'Eon. "They're tested either weekly, twice monthly or three times a summer."   

Testing expensive

D'Eon said lifeguards take samples and the results are examined by environmental health consultants. A decision on which beaches are monitored involves feedback from municipal, provincial and federal governments. 

"There's a process that is gone through," said D'Eon. "We do some recommendations based upon our study we would do on a beach, and then the governments would decide."

D'Eon said there are six beaches in Cape Breton that are supervised by lifeguards and tested for bacteria: Port Hood, Inverness, Ingonish, Dominion, Mira Gut and Point Michaud. 

He said that each water test submitted to a lab involves the collection of five samples. The process costs them about $250 each time. 

Risk factors

D'Eon said there were a number of risk factors identified at Indian Beach.

"There's a population built up around the beach and who knows what the sewer outfalls are," he said. "We have major water shipping and ferry traffic and recreational boat traffic. When you have a lot of traffic around a beach, it becomes a higher risk beach."

D'Eon said more testing would be needed to weigh the risks of swimming at the beach. He suggested running at least six tests over a five-week period to provide some context.

He said contaminated water would be most hazardous to small children who tend to drink water while they're swimming. 

The Cape Breton Regional Municipality owns the beach and is currently considering changing its name.

A municipal spokesperson did not provide an explanation as to why Indian Beach is no longer being tested for bacteria, despite some people still choosing to swim there.

Paul MacDougall, a senior instructor in the public health program at Cape Breton University, said swallowing contaminated water brings certain risks, but there are few reports of swimmers getting sick in Nova Scotia.

"There could be no bacteria problem there at all, possibly," said MacDougall. "Someone who is occasionally testing the water there could then contact Public Health and discuss it with them. If it was me doing this ... I would be doing more tests. Maybe [something] has changed."

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