Portion of one of Penticton’s busiest beaches closed due to E. coli

A swimming advisory has been issued for almost half of one of Penticton’s busiest beaches. The stretch of beach on Okanagan Lake from the iconic S.S. Sicamous to just west of Power Street is under the advisory after extremely high levels of E. coli bacteria were found. “Signs have been posted on-site stating that the water quality is poor and swimming is not recommended at that location at this time,” stated a city media release issued today, July 26. READ MORE: Diving into Okanagan, Kamloops area lakes to beat the heat? Watch out for swimmer’s itch https://infotel.ca/newsitem/diving-into-okanagan-kamloops-area-lakes-to-beat-the-heat-watch-out-for-swimmers-itch/it105594 The city said the test found 2,500 colony forming units of E. coli per 100 ml sample. The maximum safe number of units is 400 per 100 ml sample. Interior Health will continue to test the water and once E. coli levels return to acceptable levels as outlined in Health Canada’s guidelines. If swimmers ingest the water they can develop gastrointestinal illnesses, skin rashes and eye, ear and throat problems. Very young and very old swimmers with weakened immunity are the most susceptible to the e-coli bacteria. High levels of E. coli bacteria are often caused by waterfowl and animal waste. For more on beach closures in Penticton and throughout the Interior Health region go here https://www.interiorhealth.ca/health-and-wellness/environmental-health-and-hazards/public-beaches . To contact a reporter for this story, email Howard Alexander mailto:halexander@infonews.ca  or call 250-309-5343 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tip@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here https://infotel.ca/newsletter .