For the second time in a week, residents are being warned to avoid swimming at Queen’s Royal Beach due to unsafe E. coli levels in the water.

As of Tuesday, July 19, the Region of Niagara Region listed the beach as unsafe for swimming. It’s not known if heavy rains on Monday played any role in the elevated bacteria levels.

On July 14, the beach also was posted as unsafe to swim, but the region declared it safe a few days later.

Queen’s Royal, not far from Simcoe Park downtown, is home to NOTL’s famous gazebo and is a popular destination for visitors.

Depending on annual assessments and public usage, the region tests several beaches around Niagara between one and six times weekly.

According to the Swim Guide, Queen’s Royal Beach is sampled weekly from May 17 to Sept. 15.

It is unknown when the beach will be safe for swimming again.

A sign at the beach warns people to stay out of the water.

The small beach at Ryerson Park, about two kilometres west of Queen’s Royal, is not tested regularly but the shoreline there has been covered in green “seaweed” for most of the past three weeks.