News

Okay, who's shitting in Trout Lake?

by Stephen Hui on July 13th, 2011 at 12:21 PM
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      I've never taken a dip in Vancouver's Trout Lake, and this summer is not a good time to start.

      That's because this jewel of East Van has a high fecal coliform count and remains closed to swimming.

      Shelley Beaudet of Vancouver Coastal Health told News1130 that the regional health authority doesn't have a clue what's soiling the lake.

      "High coliforms are just an indicator of fecal contamination," Beaudet said. "If there is fecal contamination, you can get any of the organisms ingested because when you swim you tend to ingest some water."

      According to the health authority's beach water quality report dated July 5, a count of 250 coliforms per 100 millilitres of water was measured at Trout Lake.

      Fecal coliform counts higher than 200 are, well, not good and result in the posting of warning signs stating "This Water Does Not Meet Health Standards for Swimming or Wading".

      So East Van swimmers should make the trek over to English Bay or Wreck Beach for healthier waters.

      Trout Lake's better for walking around anyway.

      You can follow Stephen Hui on Twitter at twitter.com/stephenhui.

      Comments

      40 Comments

      John Lucas

      Jul 13, 2011 at 12:25pm

      Hmm... do you suppose the offleash dog area at the north end of Trout Lake might have something to do with it?

      Martin Dunphy

      Jul 13, 2011 at 1:29pm

      Huge off-leash area + thousands of dogs + thousands of unscooped poops + rain + runoff = high coliform count.

      What? Dog owners are required by law to scoop their pets' shit?

      Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

      Chantelle La Violette

      Jul 13, 2011 at 2:51pm

      Hippies? Hey, doesn't Mike Usinger live near there?

      Standing Water

      Jul 13, 2011 at 9:09pm

      I remember swimming in trout lake as a child. Very fun. Not so many spoiled dog owners back then, I guess.

      eastsidechick

      Jul 14, 2011 at 8:43am

      3 words....DOGS, DOGS, DOGS. we want them gone from trout lake.
      why should dogs get waterfront property to play? I so wish they would all get lost and leave the lake to the ducks.

      Ex East Vanner

      Jul 14, 2011 at 9:09am

      Duh! has anyone seen all of the ducks and other water birds that kick it there year round? Lots of poo!

      Barney Fife

      Jul 14, 2011 at 9:10am

      These 'tards that do not clean their dogs shit up should be heavily fined. I see it all the time. Fine these idiots.

      Wankoover

      Jul 14, 2011 at 9:27am

      No surprise this story would cue the anti-dog histrionics. Throughout the GVRD, the leading cause of fecal contamination in waterways is avian —  by a LONG shot.. Not to mention the fact that the lake has long been a festering polluted pit where previous generations would dump unwanted garbage, the fact that the lake provides drainage run off for the entire park.

      If dogs were the sourse of fecal contamination - you would surely know it, the amount of uncollected turds littering the park would render it unvisitable.

      Andrew

      Jul 14, 2011 at 10:13am

      A new pipe flowing into Trout Lake was installed on the west side of the pond (towards the community centre that is currently under construction) last year. I don't know if this has change anything... Overflow?