Swimming advisories in place for beaches in Greater Sudbury, Manitoulin Island

Public Health Sudbury has issued swimming advisories for Maintenance Beach on Ramsey Lake in Greater Sudbury and South Baymouth Beach on Manitoulin Island.

Maintenance Beach is located between Main Beach and the Splash N' Go at Ramsey Lake.

People are being asked to stay out of the water for recreational purposes due to bacteria levels exceeding the acceptable threshold.

In Ontario, water samples are tested for E. coli bacteria. Recreational use of water is halted when bacterial levels exceed200 E. coli per 100 mlof water.

"Going into the water when bacteria are present in high concentrations puts bathers at risk for infections," said Cindy Rocca, manager with Public Health Sudbury & Districts' health protection division, in a newsrelease.

Swimmers can get sick if they swallow beach water, if water gets in their ears, eyes, or nose; or if it comes in contact with open wounds, according to Rocca.

It's not clear when the advisory will be lifted but Sudbury public health says it will notify the public when it's safe to swim at these beaches again.

The monitoring of the affected beach fronts hasramped up and samples of the water will be taken daily until bacterial levels return to safe numbers, said the news release on Tuesday.