Wellington Mayor Andrew Little took a dip at Lyall Bay on Wednesday. Photo / Mark Papalii, RNZ
Wellington Mayor Andrew Little took a dip at Lyall Bay on Wednesday. Photo / Mark Papalii, RNZ
By RNZ
Wellington’s south coast beaches have been rated as unsuitable for swimming two days after the city’s mayor went for a swim in Lyall Bay to show it was safe.
The area had been off-limits to beachgoers since February 4 after the Moa Point sewage plant completely failed, sendingtens of millions of litres of raw sewage into Cook Strait each day since.
On Wednesday, it was announced the beaches could reopen, with Wellington Mayor Andrew Little taking a dip in front of media.
The Land Air Water Aotearoa (Lawa) website has listed much of the south coast as being unsuitable for swimming, as well the bulk of the inner harbour, including Oriental Bay.
Little said at the announcement he advised residents to check the website before swimming and follow the advice on it.
“I do want to be clear: a risk remains, but monitoring results so far show that it is low and it is now up to people to decide how they respond to the current information.”
When contacted on Friday, to ask about the latest development, Little said that as stated on Wednesday, conditions could change rapidly.
“My message has been to check the LAWA website before swimming, and I encourage everyone to follow the advice on it.
“When conditions change the information on the LAWA website changes, and that is what has happened here. Advice about swimming on the south coast has been updated after a prolonged period of rain in Wellington overnight. The standard advice from LAWA to not enter the water during rainfall, or after rain for 48 hours remains.”
Little said the latest updates on LAWA’s website showed that the system of letting people know when it was safe to swim was working.
“I am perfectly healthy after my swim. My swim occurred when the LAWA website showed it was safe to do so.
“Public health officials strongly advise against gathering shellfish or kaimoana from the south coast area. Shellfish can be contaminated for weeks after exposure to sewage and eating the contaminated shellfish could make you sick.”
