Auckland’s beaches impacted by high levels of faecal bacteria after rainfall

Auckland’s beaches have been impacted by high levels of faecal bacteria after recent heavy rainfall.

The city’s water quality monitoring website, Safeswim, has warned the public against swimming at the majority of Auckland’s beaches due to the increased risk of illness.

Safeswim uses different icons to indicate the risk level at each beach, with a red water droplet indicating a high risk and a green water droplet indicating a low risk.

After the recent downpours, most of Auckland’s beaches are marked as high-risk on the Safeswim map.

Contaminated water can contain harmful bacteria, viruses, and protozoa that can cause illnesses such as gastroenteritis, respiratory illness, ear and eye infections, and skin infections.

In addition to the general stormwater contamination, there have also been multiple wastewater overflows, which pose an even greater public health risk.

Watercare is working on multiple projects to reduce wastewater overflows and improve water quality in Auckland.