{"id":11972,"date":"2026-08-30T14:12:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T14:12:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/sandylakebedford\/?p=11972"},"modified":"2026-08-30T15:08:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T15:08:36","slug":"sandy-lake-beach-closed-to-swimming-due-to-possible-blue-green-algae-bloom-hrm-aug26-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/sandylakebedford\/2026\/08\/30\/sandy-lake-beach-closed-to-swimming-due-to-possible-blue-green-algae-bloom-hrm-aug26-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Sandy Lake Beach closed to swimming due to possible blue-green algae bloom &#8221; &#8211; HRM Aug26, 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_11974\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.halifax.ca\/parks-recreation\/programs-activities\/swimming\/supervised-beaches-outdoor-pools-splash-pads\/sandy\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-11974\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11974\" src=\"http:\/\/versicolor.ca\/sandylakebedford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-30-at-11.09.21\u202fAM-300x198.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"198\" srcset=\"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/sandylakebedford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-30-at-11.09.21\u202fAM-300x198.png 300w, https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/sandylakebedford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-30-at-11.09.21\u202fAM-1024x675.png 1024w, https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/sandylakebedford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-30-at-11.09.21\u202fAM-768x506.png 768w, https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/sandylakebedford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screenshot-2026-08-30-at-11.09.21\u202fAM.png 1260w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-11974\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Screenshot from HRM Sandy Lake Beach Park <a href=\"https:\/\/www.halifax.ca\/parks-recreation\/programs-activities\/swimming\/supervised-beaches-outdoor-pools-splash-pads\/sandy\">web page<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p>From the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.halifax.ca\/home\/news\/sandy-lake-beach-closed-swimming-due-possible-blue-green-algae-bloom\">HRM News Release<\/a>, Aug 26, 2026:<\/p>\n<p>The Halifax Regional Municipality is advising residents that due to the presence of a toxin-producing blue-green algae bloom, Sandy Lake Beach in Halifax is <a href=\"https:\/\/can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.halifax.ca%2Fparks-recreation%2Fprograms-activities%2Fswimming%2Fsupervised-beaches-outdoor-pools-splash-pads&amp;data=05%7C02%7CJake.Fulton%40halifax.ca%7Cf107334159fc472fdebc08df0373c3e6%7C05b7e7d6b71b47da93efaac7223f89e5%7C0%7C0%7C639233467913682284%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=M2GmFknfV55BcaKF02j9UyjralF%2BAtUm578nooocQ%2BE%3D&amp;reserved=0\" rel=\"noreferrer\">closed for recreational use.<\/a><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) are naturally occurring in freshwater environments and may grow when weather conditions are calm and warm. Some types of blue-green algae produce toxins which can pose a risk to people and pets.<\/p>\n<p>Water users are encouraged to take the following precautions:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Avoid water contact. If contact occurs, towel off vigorously and wash with tap water as soon as possible.<\/li>\n<li>Do not swim or wade\u00a0(or allow your children or pets to swim or wade) in any areas where blue-green algae is visible or in areas that have been closed to swimming due to possible blue-green algae.<\/li>\n<li>Keep pets on-leash and do not allow them to consume blue-green algae material.<\/li>\n<li>Avoid consuming water from this lake.<\/li>\n<li>Avoid consuming fish that has come from this lake.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>People who come in contact with blue-green algae blooms or ingest water containing blue-green algae blooms may experience skin irritation, rash, sore throat, sore red eyes, swollen lips, fever, nausea, vomiting and\/or diarrhea. Children and immune-compromised individuals are at a higher risk. If you have these symptoms, please seek medical assistance. Images of blue-green algae are available <a href=\"https:\/\/can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.halifax.ca%2Fabout-halifax%2Fenergy-environment%2Flakes-rivers%2Fharmful-algae-blooms&amp;data=05%7C02%7CJake.Fulton%40halifax.ca%7Cf107334159fc472fdebc08df0373c3e6%7C05b7e7d6b71b47da93efaac7223f89e5%7C0%7C0%7C639233467913710845%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=Cm%2B3kBKOQPeKjEgPSFnHt1xdpGa%2B0zW%2BfyCYSy0YmO8%3D&amp;reserved=0\" rel=\"noreferrer\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>When a blue-green algae bloom or mat<em><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>is observed, a beach closure is issued and initial testing is done to determine whether it is a toxin-producing algae bloom is. If it is <strong>not<\/strong> a toxin-producing algae bloom, no further testing is required and the beach will be reopened. A public service announcement will be issued once the beach has reopened.<\/p>\n<p>If it is a toxin-producing blue-green algae bloom, further testing will be carried out and the beach will remain closed until blooms have disappeared and post-bloom test results indicate the toxin concentration is within Health Canada guidelines.<\/p>\n<p>To learn more about blue-green algae blooms, visit:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.halifax.ca%2Fabout-halifax%2Fenergy-environment%2Flakes-rivers%2Fharmful-algae-blooms&amp;data=05%7C02%7CJake.Fulton%40halifax.ca%7Cf107334159fc472fdebc08df0373c3e6%7C05b7e7d6b71b47da93efaac7223f89e5%7C0%7C0%7C639233467913731148%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=QBTdfOzHZN7yxg7H25%2FqCev2bsqruvcZ3qs8hx8j%2FYs%3D&amp;reserved=0\" rel=\"noreferrer\">halifax.ca\/cyano<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-END&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;<\/p>\n<p>For Updates on status of HRM Beaches, View <a href=\"https:\/\/www.halifax.ca\/parks-recreation\/programs-activities\/swimming\/supervised-beaches-outdoor-pools-splash-pads\">Supervised beach status updates<\/a>.\u00a0 Currently only 4 of the 18 Supervised Beaches in HRM are &#8220;open&#8221;. Currently, Sandy Lake is the only beach closed because of an (apparently) confirmed Blue Green Algae Bloom. Kearney Lake is closed because of a &#8220;Suspected Blue-green Algae Bloom&#8221;. 9 Beaches\u00a0 are closed because of high bacterial counts, 7 passed Water Quality tests but are closed for other reasons.<\/p>\n<p>Related Posts on this website:<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/sandylakebedford\/2025\/09\/22\/sandy-lake-a-site-of-possible-bga-bloom-in-early-september-of-2025\/\"><strong>Sandy Lake a site of possible BGA bloom in early September of 2025<\/strong><\/a><br \/>\n(Post, Sep 22, 2025)<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/sandylakebedford\/2026\/05\/23\/are-the-sandy-lake-limnological-observations-pseudo-science-23may2026\/\"><strong>Developer to Premier: Sandy Lake limnological observations are \u201cpseudo-science\u201d<\/strong><\/a><br \/>\n(Post, May 23, 2026)<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/sandylakebedford\/2025\/07\/25\/community-studies-for-sandy-lake-bedford-ns-special-planning-area-ignore-critical-data-on-water-quality-23jul2025\/\"><strong>Community Studies for Sandy Lake (Bedford, NS) Special Planning Area \u201cignore\u201d critical data on water quality<\/strong><\/a><br \/>\n(Post,\u00a0 July 25, 2025)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/sandylakebedford\/2025\/02\/20\/unusually-late-bga-bloom-in-sandy-lake-bedford-reported-in-harmful-algal-news-unesco-20feb2025\/\"><strong>Unusually late BGA bloom in Sandy Lake (Bedford) reported in Harmful Algal News (UNESCO)<\/strong> <\/a><br \/>\n(Post, Feb 20, 2025)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From the HRM News Release, Aug 26, 2026: The Halifax Regional Municipality is advising residents that due to the presence of a toxin-producing blue-green algae bloom, Sandy Lake Beach in Halifax is closed for recreational use.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sandy-lake","category-water-quality"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/sandylakebedford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/sandylakebedford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/sandylakebedford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/sandylakebedford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/sandylakebedford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11972"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/sandylakebedford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11972\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11988,"href":"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/sandylakebedford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11972\/revisions\/11988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/sandylakebedford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/sandylakebedford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/sandylakebedford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}