Maybe residents hadn't heard about it, or maybe they were celebrating somewhere else, but the new beach in Longueuil was sparsely attended on the first full day of its opening.
The beach on Charron Island was inaugurated on Thursday at noon, but on the Fete Nationale the next day, only a few dozen people enjoyed the sand and water.
One man couldn't believe his good luck.
"In the Montreal area it's difficult now to have good access, not to the sea, but to the water," said one man. "It's wonderful now with the sun, and the St. Jean Baptiste. What can I do more. It's perfect!"
With a perfect view of the city of Montreal in the distance, the brand new beach in Longueuil is ideal for residents who live nearby, like the Halaka family from Brossard.
"Here it's a little more quiet than Montreal. It's not far," said Osama Halaka.
He admits though he is not sure about the cleanliness of the water.
"We're here just to look the water and to put our legs in the water. That's it."
The city of Longueuil insists the water is clean, and is testing it every week to make sure it's safe to swim.
Environmentalist Daniel Green says testing needs to be done continuously on urban beaches.
"An urban beach that is not tested on a regular basis, I am talking sometimes multiple times a day, is a beach that might pollute the users," said Green.
Places like the Jean Doré beach in Jean Drapeau Park are different because they're enclosed and treated.
Green worries that the problem with the St. Lawrence River is that it can get very dirty, very fast.
"Even when it doesn't rain we know that sewage pumps in that area, including in Longueuil, have stopped working due to fires and short circuits, so if sewage is no longer being discharged, there's danger," said Green.
Those concerned that last year's big dump by the city of Montreal don't have to worry at all though.
Tests showed the effect of dumping 4.9 billion litres of untreated sewage from two dozen locations was minimal, with fecal coliform counts back to normal within four to ten days.
Longueuil posts updates on the water quality regularly.
If the beach gets poor water quality results it will be closed.
The beach is open every day until September.
