New water problems for New Brunswick beach prompt call for testing

New Brunswick's Parlee Beach is seen on July 9, 2018.

SHEDIAC, N.B. -- A popular New Brunswick beach had four no-swim advisories last week, prompting calls for more tests to find the source of the problem.

Poor water quality resulted in the advisories on Aug. 12, 14, 15 and 16 for Parlee Beach, a popular tourist destination on the province's east coast.

Arthur Melanson, vice-president of the Red Dot Association, a local group formed five years ago to protect the beach and the local environment, is calling on the province to find the source of bacteria.

He says after a good summer so far, the no-swim notices occurred after a heavy rain, and he believes testing could determine if the bacteria come from human waste, animals or birds.

"The concern that I have is since the beach was good until then, we have a heavy rain, and then we end up with four days of bad readings," Melanson said Monday.

He said three sewage lift stations in the area overflowed during the heavy rain, but it's uncertain if that caused the problems at the beach.

"Why wasn't there any DNA analysis done of that water to determine what is in there? It would allow them to zero in on what the problem is," he said.

Jason Hoyt, a spokesman for the province, said it is normal to find bacteria in surface water and for the levels to fluctuate.

"Based on the water quality sampling results collected from 2017 to date, the water quality is typically good and suitable for swimming, and there is no evidence to suggest that there is a chronic water quality issue at Parlee Beach Provincial Park," he wrote in an email. He said when unacceptable levels are reached it is temporary, "with water quality quickly returning to normal levels."

A report released in April 2018 concluded there is no evidence of a chronic water quality issue at Parlee Beach.

In addition to almost $3 million spent on infrastructure and studies to support water quality improvements at Parlee Beach, the government also announced $760,000 for further improvements.

Melanson said the work so far has made a difference, but he believes specific testing could pinpoint the sources of the problem.

"Right now it's just a shotgun approach instead of trying to zero in on what the reason is and fix that reason," he said.

But Hoyt said DNA testing has been done over the last few years.

"Human, dog and gull DNA were identified at the sites closest to Parlee Beach," he wrote. "The overall concentration of DNA detected from all sources was relatively low, which is consistent with the low bacterial levels observed in the sand samples."

Last June, the beach was given a blue-flag designation for meeting international standards in water quality, environmental management, environmental education and safety.