Over 50 ‘high risk’ swim alerts for Auckland’s beaches

Aucklanders looking to take a dip in the sea should think twice with dozens of high-risk swimming warnings on the region’s beaches.

According to the Auckland City Council’s Safeswim website, more than 50 of Auckland’s beaches are at “high risk” of getting sick from swimming.

Ten of those places also include a long-term alert, where swimming is not recommended and sampling shows that the water quality does not meet national guidelines.

The warnings come after bursts of torrential rains and storms hit Auckland over the weekend, placing stress on parts of the storm and sewage networks.

The city’s beaches, including St Heliers, Judges Bay, Okahu Bay, St Marys Bay, Cox’s Bay were considered “high risk” bathing areas for bathers.

The North Shore, Long Bay, Cheltenham, Browns Bay, Bayswater, Narrow Neck, Milford South, and Mairangi Bay were also placed on the high-risk list, along with several others.

Further south and east, the popular Maraetai, Eastern Beach, Farm Cove, and Kawakawa Bay were considered high-risk swimming spots.

Piha’s North and South Lagoon is on long-term alert, as is Bethells Beach Lagoon.

Check before swimming. Photo / Sylvie Whinray

The red alert classification is activated by a direct measurement of the stool indicator bacteria, enterococci, in the water.

Denotes a greater than 2 percent chance of getting sick from swimming at the beach.

A black alert, which currently does not exist, indicates a “very high risk” of illness from swimming and means that the water was directly contaminated by human feces, and not just by Enterococci bacteria that could come from the intestines of any animal.

According to the Safeswim website, its water quality forecasts take into account rainfall, wind, tide, sunlight and the type of beach.

They are built using high-frequency directed sampling on historical monitoring results and are backed by the best available meteorological data, including rain radar readings and an extensive network of rain gauges.

Safeswim forecasts are automatically overridden if sensors detect unforeseen events, such as a sewage overflow in dry weather, that are likely to cause a risk to public health.

Safeswim is overseen by an independent panel of public health and water quality experts and must meet performance standards adopted by the United States Geological Survey (USGS).