Making Canadian beaches even safer
Professor Ian Young is researching the intersection of water quality and illness at Canadian beaches this summer.
For health equity and access, everyone should be able to enjoy an experience at a public beach without worrying about getting sick. As beach season gets underway, a Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) researcher and his team are working to fill knowledge gaps around recreational water illness occurrences among Canada’s beachgoers and benefit public health by improving water quality surveillance and safety.
“For some people, that’s their only way to get out in the summer and do certain leisure activities. We have these beautiful natural environments, and I think we have a responsibility to keep them clean, to figure out what kind of contamination is happening at these beaches and ensure they’re a safe place people can go with their families,” said professor Ian Young of the Faculty of Community Services.
He is collaborating with fellow School of Occupational and Public Health professors Jordan Tustin and Fatih Sekercioglu, leading two multi-year projects that examine how water quality and illness can intersect at beaches across the country. The two projects have received grant funding of more than $1 million combined.
The Canadian Beach Cohort Study
Many Canadian public health authorities, including the City of Toronto, regularly conduct water quality tests for E. coli levels during the summer season. Professor Young explained that the Health Canada water quality guidelines currently used for making recommendations about swimming advisories are based on U.S.-based data that’s 15–20 years old. His team is aiming to inform these guidelines with modern, Canadian-specific data and explore new water quality testing technologies.
After completing a 2022 pilot study at Woodbine Beach in Toronto, professor Young’s team expanded the study to two more Toronto beaches last year supported by a previous bridge grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). A new CIHR Project Grant will enable the study to expand this summer and over the next few years to include new sites in Ontario as well as other provinces, including B.C., Manitoba and Nova Scotia.
In addition to surveying beachgoers about illness experienced after a beach visit, professor Young and his team are examining different water quality indicators and their links to illness levels. New rapid tests could be effective for water quality monitoring and predicting illness. To help inform potential prevention measures, the team is also testing microbial source tracking markers – biomarkers unique to just one species – to tell if the contamination is from humans, seagulls, dogs or other animals.
Blue-green algae blooms and health
Professor Young’s second project examines water quality and related illness related to blue-green algae blooms. These blooms are due to naturally occurring bacteria, he said. “But with certain environmental pressures, like high levels of phosphorus from human activities and warming temperatures, they can proliferate, causing harmful algal blooms,” he said. Algal blooms are visible and unappealing, but more importantly, produce toxins that can cause illness in people and their pets. “We’re seeing more of it happening every year now, including in places where it hasn’t shown up before.”
This research, funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada, will examine different sites in Ontario and Manitoba this year and expand to Nova Scotia next year. Similar to in the Canadian Beach Cohort Study, the research team will interview people at the sites, follow up with them about their health and regularly test water quality.
If you are headed to the beach this summer, professor Young has some tips to limit the risk of related illness. If the water is cloudy – if you can’t see your feet – there is probably a higher risk of illness exposure, he said. Try not to swallow water or sand while playing, and make sure to wash your hands afterwards and before eating.
Learn more about professor Young’s water quality research. (external link, opens in new window)
Read “Recreational water exposures and illness outcomes at a freshwater beach in Toronto, Canada: A prospective cohort pilot study,” (external link, opens in new window) by professor Young and collaborators in the journal PLOS ONE.
