Canandaigua, N.Y.—It has been one week since city leaders closed Canandaigua’s Kershaw Beach following concerns of environmental contamination.
“If there’s something wrong, I’d rather they cleaned it first,” said Debbie Curry, a Buffalo area resident who took a day trip to Canandaigua to swim at Kershaw Beach.
Curry and others who’ve tried to swim have been sent away by lifeguards.
Lab results were received by city leaders in recent days, but City Manager Kay James told 13 WHAM News the information was inconclusive.
“We still don’t know what the black substance is,” said James. “No additional globules of the black substance have been found inside or outside of the area that is still contained by the submerged black 'turbidity curtain,' we have been looking in the water (snorkeling) as well as on the beach,” she continued.
“There are other beaches for people to go to, certainly not as convenient, not as large,” said Alison Grems, President of the Canandaigua Chamber of Commerce.
More tests are taking place and the results could be obtained by the city’s Public Works department by Friday. The beach remains closed and will be closed through this upcoming weekend according to Assistant City Manager Bryan White.
The 39th Waterfront Art Festival is scheduled for July 28th and is not expected to be impacted by the closure of Kershaw Beach.
