Code brown: Beach swimming spots to avoid in Auckland, Northland during September school holidays

Thursday, 26 September 2019

Drones will be used to collect water samples at Auckland beaches in order to determine water quality (first published in May 2019).

Thirteen swim spots in Auckland and 16 in Northland are considered too contaminated to swim in ahead of the school holidays.

About 40mm of rain was expected to fall in the area over the two-week period, meaning the number of contaminated swim spots could also dramatically increase.

Contamination by human and animal faeces can make swim spots risky to bathe in and can result in gastro and respiratory illnesses, according to Auckland Council.

Oakley Creek waterfall has been deemed unsafe to swim due to a high level of fecal matter.

As of Thursday, more than 40 beaches, bays, and lagoons were deemed as likely to cause a high risk of illness if they were swam in.

**READ MORE:

More than 40 beaches, bays, and lagoons have a high risk of illness if swam in due to recent rainfall.

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* Don't go near the water: health warnings at more than 30 Auckland beaches after heavy rain

* Where to find the cleanest beaches in West Auckland

As of Wednesday, Long Bay Beach was considered a very high risk for illness due to a wastewater overflow.

* Faeces to blame for 16 Auckland beaches too filthy for swimming**

Long Bay Beach has a very high risk of illness from swimming due to recent wastewater overflow in the area.

There is a sign at Piha Lagoon to warn people of the dangers of swimming there.

Auckland Council Safeswim programme manager Nick Vigar said the red alerts - which show a high risk of illness - appear after rainfall.

He said within 48 hours of no rain, the red alerts would likely turn back to green and the spot would be safe again. But MetService is predicting rain for the rest of the week.

Bethells Lagoon has a long term alert and Safeswim recommends people never swim in it.

Vigar said most people used the website as a guide on the day to determine where they should or shouldn't swim.

There are some beaches in the region which have 'sufficiently' bad water quality with long term alerts and it is recommended that people never swim there.

Whangārei's Hatea River is considered unsafe to swim in.

These include Bethells Lagoon, Piha North Lagoon, Piha South Lagoon, Fosters Bay, Laingholm Beach, Titirangi Beach, Wood Bay, Green Bay, Oakley Creek, Meola Reef, Cox's Bay, Wairau Outlet, and Little Oneroa Lagoon.

Piha, Bethells and Oneroa beaches in particular had high human waste contamination levels from properties with no wastewater networks and leaking septic tanks, Vigar previously told Stuff.

Vigar said Safeswim monitored the quality of water by faecal indicator bacteria.

The risk of contamination grows when it is raining and animal faeces on footpaths is washed into swimming areas.

If people swim in contaminated areas, they can end up with diarrhoea, vomiting, colds and flus, Vigar said.

Nearly a quarter of Northland's most popular swimming spots are unsafe to swim in, according to data from Land Air Water Aotearoa (LAWA).

The Northland Regional Council collects weekly samples from 46 beaches and 14 freshwater swimming holes in the height of summer.

Outside of those testing times, LAWA shows the overall bacterial risk based on results from the past three summers.

The results show 16 spots are unsafe for swimming due to high bacteria.

These include Whangārei's Hatea River, the picturesque Matapouri Bay estuary, Kerikeri River at the Stone Store and Waitangi Bridge in Paihia.

MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris said about 30-50mm of rain was expected to fall in Auckland and Northland during the school holidays next week.

'This weekend looks mainly fine for Northland and Auckland with some isolated showers peppering the region,' Ferris said.

'Rain is set to arrive Sunday evening and will bring a couple wet days to kick things off but after Tuesday an area of high pressure moves over the northern regions and looks to keep rain makers at bay for the rest of the week.'

In 2018, Auckland Council approved its 10-year budget which would see $452 million spent on cleaning up harbours, beaches and streams.

Vigar said Safeswim focused its efforts on cleaning up the locations with long term alerts.

Keep an eye on the Safeswim website if you are planning a day of swimming to make sure your favourite spot is clear of contamination.