The pond at Moncton’s Centennial Park has reopened after being closed last week due to coliform counts three times the acceptable level.
City officials are still trying to determine what caused the elevated levels, which included fecal coliform, said Dan Hicks, the city's parks supervisor.
But the latest test results show conditions have improved and the pond is safe once again for all water uses, said Hicks.
“Our tests that we did this Monday have now confirmed that our results show that they're well within the acceptable limits for boating now for secondary use,” he said.
Hicks says that's good news for Camp Centennial because it will be able to offer canoeing camps at the park again.
Coliform counts in the pond, which is home to numerous ducks and geese, had been as high as 3,000 parts per million, three times the acceptable level, Hicks had said.
The highest counts were found close to a sewage lift station north of the pond.
New federal standards allowed the pond to stay open longer than in previous years, said Hicks.
Under the old rules, it had to be closed when coliform counts reached 200 parts per million, the level where swimming and wading are banned. As a result, the pond was regularly closed for weeks during the summer.
The new rules put in place this year allow boating to continue as long as the count stays below 1,000 parts per million.
The pond at Centennial is frequented by canoeists and is not a swimming pond.