Ottawa beaches have traditionally closed after the third weekend of August. Last summer, that was Aug. 16, and in the middle of a heatwave. The closings prompted a flood of angry calls to councillors who asked staff to explore ways to keep beaches open longer without stretching the budget.
The city’s official beach season can last from 58 to 65 days. Last summer, the season was 58 days and on some of those, beaches were closed because of public health no-swim advisories. Meanwhile, NCC beaches at Gatineau Park and Lac Leamy were open for 88 days and Gatineau’s four municipal beaches were open for 74 days.
In November, staff produced three cost-free options, including a plan to stagger the start and close date of two of the four beach sites by one week. Two beaches will have a 65-day season calculated from the fourth Sunday in August, while the other two would have it calculated from the third Sunday. That would mean Westboro and Petrie Island would be supervised from June 25 to Aug. 28 while Mooney’s Bay and Britannia would be supervised from June 18 to Aug. 21.
“I was looking to extend the beach season for all beaches,” said Knoxdale-Merivale Coun. Keith Egli.
Egli is hoping some money can be found in the city’s “unforeseen fund” this summer, then funding it from the base budget after that. He also liked the idea of an additional weekend in June before the end of school.
