HRM lifts recreational water advisories at 5 of its beaches

The Halifax Regional Municipality has lifted its recreational water advisory for five municipal beaches.

As of Friday evening, there are no longer advisories for:

• Lake Echo Beach, Lake Echo.
• Springfield Beach,Sackville.
• Birch Cove Beach, Dartmouth.
• Penhorn Beach, Dartmouth.
• Shubie Park Beach, Dartmouth.

These beaches are supervised, the municipality noted in a news releaseFriday evening.

"Municipal staff regularly test the water quality at all supervised municipal beaches during July and August," the city saidin the release.

"Previous test results showed high bacteria levels in the water but followup tests show the water is once again within Health Canada guidelines."

There is still a recreational water advisory in place for Albro Lake Beach in Dartmouth.

"High bacteria levels can be caused by a number of factors, including dogs, birds, wildlife and impacts from climate change, such as high temperatures, lower water levels and recent heavy rainfall," the municipality said Thursday when it announced the advisories.