By BERNARD ORSMAN
Aucklanders will miss out this summer on a barometer to accurately rate popular beaches from very poor to excellent for swimming.
Instead, beach lovers will have to rely on a flawed method of testing polluted water for faeces that puts them at risk of gastroenteritis, ear, nose and throat
infections, and skin complaints.
Auckland councils and water bodies have been working with the Ministry for the Environment on a new, more accurate testing method that would lead to beaches being rated very poor, poor, fair, good or excellent on barometers like those used to indicate fire risk in forests.
Work on the improved new testing, which is based on protocols drawn up between the World Health Organisation and the United States Environmental Protection Agency, will not be ready before April, when most swimmers have packed away their togs.
Rennae Shirley, an environmental policy analyst with the Auckland City Council, said yesterday that the present method of testing beaches for pollution was flawed because it focused on a simple pass/fail result. It did not properly take into account the effect of stormwater runoff and the results were at least 48 hours old.
She said focusing on a trigger point to close a beach of 277 enterococci - bacteria indicating faeces - in 100 millilitres of water meant there was not enough emphasis put on the increased health risk from higher enterococci counts.
The new method, which is being tested throughout New Zealand, would take account of a larger number of factors indicating beach water quality, be more accurate and give a clearer idea of the level of risk. All going well it will be in place for the 2001-2002 summer.
Rennae Shirley said the present method of testing beaches on a Wednesday so results were available at the weekend was not ideal, but it was the best method available and provided the public with useful information.
The Auckland City Council will regularly monitor 15 beaches round the Waitemata Harbour, on Waiheke Island and Great Barrier Island this summer, starting early next month and finishing in April.
Last summer, there were 11 cases of beaches being closed from 450 tested samples.
The council has added Onetangi beach, on Waiheke Island, and is excluding Blockhouse Bay, Granny's Bay and Waikowhai Bay beaches along the Manukau Harbour.
Watercare Services has put up permanent signs saying it is inadvisable to swim or remove shellfish along a stretch of the Manukau Harbour, which includes these three beaches, because of work at its Mangere treatment plant.
The North Shore City Council, which tests beaches year-round for pollution, has added two beaches in the inner Waitemata Harbour, Chelsea Bay and Kendalls Bay, to the list of 26 beaches which are monitored.
The 15 Auckland City beaches to be tested are: Pt Chevalier, Herne Bay, Mission Bay, Judges Bay, Okahu Bay, Kohimarama, St Heliers, Pt England (Waitemata Harbour), Surfdale, Oneroa, Palm Beach, Onetangi (Waiheke Island), Port Fitzroy, Tryphena Medlands and Great Barrier Island.
The 26 North Shore beaches being tested are: Little Shoal Bay, Long Bay, Waiake, Browns Bay, Rothesay Bay, Murrays Bay, Mairangi Bay, Campbells Bay, Castor Bay, Wairau outlet, Milford, Milford South, Thornes Bay, Takapuna, St Leonards, Narrow Neck, Cheltenham, Torpedo Bay, Devonport, Stanley Bay, Bayswater, Soldiers Bay, Island Bay, Beach Haven, Chelsea and Kendalls Bays.
Information is available on a tollfree number, 0800 7233-7946, or on council websites.
Links
Auckland City Council
North Shore City Council
By BERNARD ORSMAN
Aucklanders will miss out this summer on a barometer to accurately rate popular beaches from very poor to excellent for swimming.
Instead, beach lovers will have to rely on a flawed method of testing polluted water for faeces that puts them at risk of gastroenteritis, ear, nose and throat
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