Beach water quality group meeting with P.E.I. government
'People want to bring their kids to places where the water quality is excellent'
International beach certification group Blue Flag is meeting with the P.E.I. government to talk about water quality and safety at beaches.
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"The provincial government really want to know more about the program," said Kelsey Scarfone, Blue Flag program coordinator.
"It's very preliminary at this point. It was a chance to meet and chat about the benefits of Blue Flag."
'A great flagship'
Blue Flag is an international beach and marina certification program and is run in Canada by the non-profit organization Environmental Defence.
"We're a program that focuses on excellent water quality, safety and services, environmental education and environmental management," Scarfone said.
She's on P.E.I. as part of an East Coast tour, somewhat related, Scarfone said, to a comment made by provincial Green Party Leader Peter Bevan-Baker back in July.
"I think it would be a great flagship for P.E.I. to be able to say we have a Blue Flag beach, or several of them," he said previously.
Regular testing
The first step of certifying a beach, said Scarfone, is through an application and study. After water tests and a review by a Canadian and international jury, beaches can be approved to be Blue Flag certified.
It's a program that provides the public with "peace of mind" when planning a trip to the beach, Scarfone said.
At a certified beach, water quality is checked weekly, she said, usually by park staff if it's provincially run, and results are posted at the beach.
There's also lifeguards or safety equipment, first aid and more.
"It's important to people because people want to know the water that they're swimming in is safe and clean. People want to bring their kids to places where the water quality is excellent," said Scarfone.
There are only two Blue Flag beaches in Atlantic Canada at the moment: the Halifax waterfront and Birch Cove Beach in Dartmouth, N.S.
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With files from Krystalle Ramlakhan