The beach at the Camp des Voyageurs Tim Horton on the Ottawa River in Quyon remains closed over two weeks after water samples collected by the province’s Ministry of Environment first indicated E. coli bacteria levels indecated unsafe swimming conditions.
The beach is the only one in the Pontiac that participates in the province’s water monitoring program, Environnement-Plage.
“The population should refrain from visiting for swimming purposes until a contrary notice has been issued by the Ministry,” the ministry’s official press release stated.
In an email to THE EQUITY, spokesperson for the ministry Ghizlane Behdaoui explained that the higher the concentration of indicator bacteria, in this case E. coli, the greater the fecal contamination, the greater the risk of the presence of other pathogenic microorganisms and the greater the risk of contracting a disease.
Behdaoui said elevated bacteria levels are often caused by . . .

weather conditions, such as intense rains and heat, as well as the presence of waterfowl on the beach.
According to the camp’s director Alexandre Morin, one of the main reasons causing the bacteria growth is the geese that frequent the area. He said the beach closure has had an impact on the camp’s usual activities which include swimming in the river. With the intense summer heat, Morin explained they have had to go to a beach across the water to cool off outdoors.
“Our group of campers went to Fitzroy Beach to at least try to enjoy the water a bit because unfortunately, we are not able to swim at our site, so we are finding another way to do so,” Morin said in a French interview with THE EQUITY.
Although the beach remains closed, Morin is optimistic it will reopen again this summer.
The Ministry said further water samples will be taken in the coming days to monitor the situation. It will continue to assess the water quality and update the public accordingly.