HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- Halifax harbor is open for swimming with life guards posted for the first time in decades with no "finless browns" in sight, officials in the Canadian city say.
Thanks to a $333 million sewage treatment project, Harbor Solutions Project Communications Manager James Campbell says there no longer are feces -- finless browns, as the locals call them -- and other gross materials bobbing in the water, and it's safe for swimmers, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported Saturday.
"Well, the first plant in Halifax came online in November, and the results were dramatic," Campbell said of the harbor's bacteria counts.
Halifax Mayor Peter Kelly told the CBC he had already gone for an inaugural swim in the once-dangerous harbor and was proud to announce it was ready for its general public opening Saturday.
"It's cool, it's clean, and most of all it's fun!" Kelly said.
Not everyone's convinced it's safe to venture into the water, however, the Globe and Mail reported.
"Not me, I'd have to have my mouth taped shut, and then maybe a medical checkup after," said Jim Gourlay as he walked with a companion and a dog near Black Rock Beach.
