Swims not recommended at Sunnyside, Kew-Balmy and Bluffer’s either: city
Cherry only beach with low E.coli levels in water department latest tests
By Kris Scheuer
Toronto water departmentis testing water quality at five city beaches. The latest test, on Monday, was posted on July 28 and indicates only one of these beaches has a safe enough level of E.coli for Toronto Public Health to declare it safe for swimming. So dive right in at Cherry Beach, the water is just fine.
The weather is starting to pick up, so let me know what the water temperature is like if you do head down there.
Keep in mind that the city, which normally tests water daily at 11 beaches, is doing modified testing during the strike which is not officially over yet. So check the city’s site for the latest as new tests are conducted Monday-Friday at Sunnyside, Kew-Balmy, Woodbine, Cherry and Bluffer’s beaches. Another six beaches Rouge, Marie Curtis Park East, Hanlan’s Point, Gibraltar Point, Centre Island and Ward’s Island beaches are not being tested for water quality at all until city services resume post strike. At these hot spots, the city recommends swimming at your own risk.
The city has seven international Blue Flag beaches but as the strike has impacted the government’s ability to meet all criteria, those flags are temporarily down.
This is to say that water testing or not, the city’s beaches generally maintain a high standard of water quality.
Here’s the results for all 11 beaches as posted July 28, by the city.
 Unsafe to swim  Not being tested  Safe to swim |
Kris Scheuer 
On Aug. 21 Woodbine Beach is safe to swim.