Connie Tabbert
Editor
The Cobden beach is a disgrace and beach-goer Jasmine Gordon is upset.
When she recently went to the beach, not only did she discover the local health unit had closed it due to high contamination of E.coli, but that geese had taken over.
“The geese have outsmarted us,” she wrote in an email. “The geese are deterred by the presence of people, dogs, etc. Because the feces was not removed from the beach, people were less inclined to go the beach. As more feces piled up, less people went and the geese now own the beach.”
Ms. Gordon sent an email to all council members as well as chief administrative officer Christine FitzSimons with her concerns. She had gone to the beach on July 3 with five children for a swim and noted the entire 18 feet of was covered in goose feces. She reported what she found to the volunteer at the tourist information booth and then went to the town hall to advise staff there of the situation. A staff member told her the public works manager was aware of the situation “but there was no way of keeping up with the nuisance geese.”
Ms. Gordon didn’t think her concern was a priority with staff, so continued to check the beach and spoke to whomever she could that the beach is not being cared for properly.
“And given the steadily accumulating collection of feces and a few pieces of Canada Day fireworks debris I found, I do not believe the beach is being maintained at all,” she wrote.
The washrooms are cleaned and the grass is cut, but the feces remain.
The situation is bad enough the beach was closed by the Renfrew County Health Unit due to the contamination, she noted.
On Monday, July 21, Ms. Gordon spoke to a municipal employee who was emptying the garbage bins at the beach and was advised he could do nothing about the feces.
The situation is not acceptable, Ms. Gordon said.
She wrote, “The municipality’s neglect of the Cobden Beach is a disservice to both the residents and tourists of Whitewater Region. It reflects poorly on us as a municipality, as well as on the good names of the (Cobden and District) Civitan Club, the local businesses and the Muskrat Lake Association. We are the only beach flagged on the county health unit’s website.”
In a follow-up email to whitewaternews.ca, Ms. Gordon said Mayor Jim Labow replied to her first email advising the problem would be discussed at the next public works meeting.
“I wasn’t willing to wait,” she wrote.
Ms. Gordon called the Ministry of Natural Resources and received ideas on how to keep the geese away. She was also told the situation occurred because the township’s swim program is not operating, which means geese feel it’s a safe beach to go to.
Ms.FitzSimons agreed.
“This problem happened out of the blue. We have a geese and seagull problem at the beach,” she said.
While she’s not 100 per cent sure, Ms.FitzSimons believes this occurred because the township was not able to hire a qualified swimming instructor, which meant the swim program was cancelled. With less people at the beach, the geese and seagulls did take over, she explained.
Once she was made aware of the problem, she contacted municipal employees and “we now have a plan.”
Environmental Services Manager Steve Hodson rectified the immediate concern by raking up the poop, she said.
Public works employees will now drag the swimming area to get rid of the weeds, she said, adding, starting next week, a municipal employee will rake the beach area each morning getting rid of any feces.
Ms. FitzSimons encourages those “well-meaning people” who have decided to clean up the beach themselves not to do that. Due to the feces contamination, proper equipment must be worn, such as a mask and gloves.
“I would hate to see anyone get sick,” she said.
Ms. Gordon encourages people to help keep the beach clear of geese and seagulls by spending time there.
“We need to commit to use the beach, take walks down there, get a human presence back,” she wrote, adding, “As more and more people come, the geese will imprint that the beach is not a fun place to be and they will leave!”
