While people should pay attention to water quality advisories at Parlee Beach, they shouldn’t panic, according to the Deputy Chief Medical Officer of Health for New Brunswick.
Dr. Cristin Muecke says they’re continuing to gather data to develop a predictive model, based on feedback from the public.
“What we’ve heard is that ‘well, we have our results from a couple days ago, and we’re not really sure what the water quality is today’,” says Dr. Muecke. “That’s true in specific terms, in general though the collection of the data shows us that the trends are very good.”
She believes people will appreciate an early heads up about water quality using factors like wind, weather, and rainfall to make the prediction.
She adds people should treat water quality advisories in the same way they’d treat heat advisories, or warnings about areas of ticks in the province.
“We want them to be aware of these potential risks, but we also want, at the same time, the message we give is ‘get outside and be active’,” says Dr. Muecke. “Physical activity, being outside in contact with nature, hanging out with your friends and family? All very important determinants of health.”
Dr. Muecke reiterated the results in the report released Friday, saying out of 1,452 samples tested in 2017, 20 were above the Canadian Guidelines.
She explains the guideline value they use to determine whether advisories should be issued is based on an increase above what is called ‘background risk.’
“So just existing in society, there’s a 1% – 2% of contracting gastrointestinal illness, and once contact with recreational water brings you above that [threshold], that’s when the Guidelines say that we should let people know this could potentially be an issue,” says Dr. Muecke.
The full report from the government can be found HERE.
