City beaches get high rating

From City Scene, published on 26 August, 2007

Keeping it clean - Eight years of monitoring has shown beach water quality in Auckland city is generally good.

Eight years of monitoring has shown beach water quality in Auckland city is generally good. Since the council's annual Safeswim programme - run in tandem with North Shore City and Rodney District councils - began in 1999, water quality testing in the summer months has been done weekly at 20 beaches across the isthmus and Hauraki Gulf Islands. Works and Services Committee chairperson, Councillor Neil Abel, says monitoring and making the results publicly available boosts health education and reduces the risk to public health. "The increasing number of visits to our website shows a growing public awareness of the programme," he says. Last summer, only seven out of 439 samples exceeded an alert level, resulting in daily monitoring of these to find the cause of high bacteria levels. In nearly all cases, the cause was stormwater drains, which flow to the sea, carrying dirty water after heavy rainfall. The council advises people not to swim within 48 hours of heavy rainfall.