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Niagara Falls
Friday, March 29, 2024
Talk of the Town: No water testing? ‘Why not?’

It has been well-documented that no public agency – neither the town, the region nor the province – regularly tests water quality at Ryerson Park in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

By regional standards, the popular sunset-watching spot and swimming area, does not attract enough people to merit consideration as an “official” beach. It also lacks sufficient parking and has no washroom facilities.

And the region also is concerned that regular testing could attract even more visitors at a time when residents in the Chautauqua neighbourhood already are feeling overrun with auto and tourist traffic.

The town put up “educational” signs last month warning people about the lack of testing and what water conditions can lead to high bacteria counts.

But none of this mattered to one anonymous visitor who added a sticky note about water testing to one of the town’s signs this past week. A simple question: “Why not?”

It reflects concerns expressed by others in the community, but we’re not sure there is the political will or desire to take on the task.

* Talk of the Town is an occasional feature about issues that NOTLers are talking about.

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