Safety of the waters of Georgian Bay for drinking and swimming is of vital concern to everyone enjoying the Bay. Up until about the 1950s cottagers could safely drink water straight from the Bay. It is now necessary to treat all water intended for drinking by filtration, chemical or heat.
The GBA urges all cottagers, boaters and campers to take measures to ensure their water is safe to consume. All surface water (taken from a river, a stream or a lake rather than from a deep well) in Ontario should be treated to remove bacteria, viruses and parasites.
It should not be necessary to haul (bottled) water from another location as water can be made safe for drinking by heat (at least 68-degrees Celsius), by reverse osmosis or very fine filtration (1 micron), chemical disinfection (usually chlorine), ozone, ultraviolet light.
Ontario is taking action to reduce blue-green algal blooms. The Clean Water Act, Great Lakes Strategy, Lake Simcoe Protection Act, and other programs promote actions that will reduce the amount of nutrients entering Ontario water bodies. If you suspect a blue-green algal bloom, assume toxins are present and call the Spills Action Centre at 1-800-268-6060
Water quality linked to low water levels
Following the dramatic water loss that began in 1999, we began to see the impacts of decreased water exchange and elevated phosphorous in enclosed bays along the coast. When this happens the chances for blue-green algae blooms increase and the water becomes unsafe for drinking, fishing or swimming. Once that happens the problem becomes very difficult to solve, since the de-oxygenated waters result in more phosphorus being released from the decomposing sediments.
