Subject: The Ottawa River & Remic Beach
Date: Sun, 12 Jul 2020 02:58:40 +0000 (UTC)
From: Dan Wilcock <CPCADan@gmail.com>

With many of us turning to activities close to home this year, there has been an increase in recreational activity along the Ottawa River, including at our local spot, Remic Beach. If you have been wondering about your options and the quality of the water, there are a number of relevant resources available.

City of Ottawa Supervised Beaches

During summer, the City of Ottawa collects water samples daily from its supervised municipal beaches, including Westboro Beach, and tests for the presence of E.coli bacteria. Water samples will be collected between June 27 and August 30, 2020. For water sampling results at supervised beaches, please visit the City’s page:

https://www.ottawapublichealth.ca/en/public-health-services/beach-water-quality-results.aspx

Swim Guide – Remic Beach page

Swim Guide publishes water quality information for a wide variety of locations. Remic Beach has a separate page on Swim Guide, showing results of E.coli testing, supported by Ottawa Riverkeeper. However, the frequency of testing differs from the City of Ottawa and the results are only a likely representation of water quality. Relevant status updates and information can be found here:

Plage Remic Beach – ORK | Swim Guide

Water Rangers

With support from the Water Rangers program, the Champlain Park community has also been monitoring other water health parameters in the Ottawa River such as temperature, clarity, pH, hardness, alkalinity, dissolved oxygen and conductivity. Regular testing is establishing baseline data, allowing more meaningful long-term observations of our river’s health. Water quality results are available at:

https://app.waterrangers.ca/locations/2513

Dan Wilcock is a member of Riverkeeper’s riverwatcher network and is leading local water quality monitoring. For any questions contact Dan at CPCADan@gmail.com. Please report any pollution concerns to Ottawa Riverkeeper’s Pollution Hotline at 1-888-9KEEPER.

Additional information about locations and activities on our reach of the river is available here: https://champlainpark.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/celebrating-our-ottawa-river-1.pdf

However you choose to play along the Ottawa River, please stay alert for hazards such as currents, deadheads and changing water levels – and remember to use appropriate safety equipment such as personal flotation devices. Stay safe and have fun!