The Healthy Beaches program helps ensure safe water quality for users of public beaches. Water sampling is typically conducted between June and September, and the information gathered is available to assist the public in making informed decisions when selecting a public swimming area.
Lakes are untreated bodies of water and carry some risk due to pollutants and other environmental factors. Public Health Inspectors respond to water quality issues, including blue-green algae (algal blooms) and elevated bacteria levels, to ensure risks are addressed as quickly as possible.
For more information about the program, including sampling criteria, please read the Healthy Beaches Program FAQ.
To report a health or safety concern at a public beach, contact your local Public Health Inspector.
Regular water sampling and reporting has finished for the season. Sampling and reporting for the Healthy Beaches program will start again in 2024.
Healthy Beaches Sampling Results
In Saskatchewan, not all public swimming areas are monitored. Historical data, the popularity of the public swimming area, and an environmental health assessment determine where sampling is appropriate. In this way, health officials can focus their resources on beaches that may pose a greater risk and respond accordingly.
Factors affecting the microbiological quality of a water body at any given time include type and frequency of contamination events, time of day, recent weather conditions, number of users of the water body, and physical characteristics of the area. Selection of sampling areas and time of sampling is affected by length of bathing area, influences of local weather, physical characteristics of the bathing area, and presence of bathers.