In the midst of the heatwave, citizens got an unpleasant surprise on Saturday when they found their favorite beach closed.
• Also read: Extreme weather: A wedding that almost failed in Montérégie
• Also read: Extreme weather: Investing in better infrastructure is ‘very profitable’
• Also read: Are extreme weather events covered by your insurance?
The week’s heavy rains have affected the quality of the province’s water bodies.
“The problem with river overflows or lake overflows is that a lot of runoff water is brought from the riparian zone, which means there’s a lot of suspended matter, some chemical products (…) or even animal excrement,” explains Marc Hamilton, microbiologist and President of Eurofins Environex.
Beauport beach was one of the bodies of water closed on Saturday.
“After a tidal cycle, about 12 hours, bathing can be allowed again, so the body of water has been replaced,” the municipality said.
Even if the citizens were disappointed not to be able to swim, they understood the municipality’s decision.
“The city says it’s not swimmable, so it’s not swimmable,” concludes a man interviewed by TVA Nouvelles.
“I wouldn’t let my kids swim there,” said one woman.
Contact with contaminated water can have many health consequences.
“It can cause health problems, especially gastrointestinal problems, like heart pain, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, maybe even fever sometimes,” explains Caroline Huot, head of the Eurofins EnvironeX Microbiology Laboratory, in an interview with TVA. News.