It may take more convincing for Haligonians to try a dip in the water at the two harbour beaches.
Dingle Park and Black Rock beaches are open but so far business is slow. At Black Rock Beach in Point Pleasant Park yesterday, the bored lifeguards rarely had more than the occasional beachgoer to watch.
But nine-year-old Mckenzie Rideout wasn’t chicken. She ran down to the water to dip her toes in yesterday afternoon and reported back “it’s cold!”
Shelley Campbell said she has no qualms about the water either.
“I grew up down here and I swam in it when it was dirty when I was a kid,” she said. “I’m sure it’s much cleaner now.”
She said the water looks much clearer, but she’s not surprised the beach was vacant even though it was a perfect, sunny day.
“We’re too overly cautious these days,” she said. “It will take a while before people go in, maybe next summer.”
Day at the beach
Lifeguards had little to do at harbour beaches.
• Open Now that the Halifax wastewater facility is fully functional, Black Rock and Dingle Park beaches were opened for swimming over the weekend.
• Regular testing The municipality is testing the water regularly and the latest results show the water at both beaches is well within the swimming level guidelines for fecal coliforms.
• Overflow concerns Even though everything is back up and running, a heavy rainfall can overflow the system.
• Rainfall warning The HRM suggests swimmers stay away from harbour beaches for three days after a heavy rainfall.
• Check them out For more information on HRM beaches call the Beach Office at 490-5458 or www.halifax.ca/rec/beaches.html.
