Chippewa Park beach needs more work, Thunder Bay group says

Superior Morning6:24Clean Chippewa Park Beach

An environmental group toured the beach at Chippewa Park in Thunder Bay last night. We'll hear some of the ways water quality could be improved at the park.

An environmental group in Thunder Bay wants to make some changes to improve water quality at Chippewa Park's main beach.

The Remedial Action Plan wants to find the best way to circulate water, and discourage geese and gulls from landing in the swimming area.

Group co-ordinator Jim Bailey said millions of dollars have been spent on improvements, but more can be done.

"People are saying, we don't want to walk away from this. We should be able to resolve this. So, that's the bottom line on what I was hearing."

The city of Thunder Bay says it's working on completing a master plan for the park, which could include removing the old dock at the edge of the swimming area.

That move could improve water flow.

"Vegetation matters, perhaps trees, Bailey continued.Geese, for example, cannot take off and land in a treed area. Higher grass for example, or trees, shrubs [could be planted]. [If] birds cannot see their predators, they don't like the area."

Thunder Bay parks manager Paul Fayrick said before anything can be done a blueprint for the park's future needs to be completed.

"[The] priority right now is to update the master plan, [and] find out what people see as priorities out here.

In the meantime, the parks Sandy Beach which is 800 metres away from the main beach remains popular.