Bowyer’s Beach has been added to the ever-changing list of swim advisories in place in Muskoka.
With its addition, five of the 13 beaches in the district are under an advisory. The others include Gravenhurst’s Gull Lake Park Beach and Muskoka Bay Park in Gravenhurst, Huntsville’s Port Sydney Beach, and Hanna Park Beach in Muskoka Lakes.
None of the beaches are closed, but the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) advises that anyone going for a swim risks developing minor skin, eye, ear, nose or throat infections or stomach illness.
“Water quality can change from day to day or even hour to hour depending on the weather and other conditions,” officials from the Town of Bracebridge explain. “Bacteria levels can increase in recreational beach water due to heavy rainfall, cloudy water, a large number of swimmers, a large number of birds, shallow water, wet sand, winds and high waves.”
SMDHU’s beach water testing schedule starts in June and runs through Labour Day long weekend in September. Officials look for elevated levels of E. coli.