Safeswim lists 36 Auckland beaches unsafe to swim in on Boxing Day due to faecal contamination

A swath of Auckland’s most popular beaches are classed as unsafe to swim at this Boxing Day because of faecal contamination.

Water quality website Safeswim has red-flagged 27 beaches on the Waitematā Harbour including Narrow Neck, Okahu and Mission Bays and most East Coast beaches from Castor Bay to Red Beach on the Whangaparāoa Peninsula. Nine inner harbour beaches have been black-flagged.

Safeswim says the levels of faecal bacteria have breached national guidelines for swimming and pose a high risk to anyone getting in the water.

More than two dozen Waitematā Harbour beaches have been red-flagged and nine inner-harbour beaches are black-flagged because of wastewater overflow.

It advises people against swimming in contaminated water.

Inner harbour beaches black-flagged by wastewater overflow include Herne Bay, Judges Bay and Ōrakei Basin.

Safeswim said the contamination was at a very high-risk level and warned against swiming at the affected beaches.

“A wastewater overflow has been detected in the area.

“Overflows are more common in wet weather, but can happen in dry weather if pipes are blocked or damaged.

“Overflows occur when wastewater [sewage] spills out from gully traps, manholes, engineered overflow points or pump stations. It then flows into backyards or waterways and the sea.”

Popular beaches along Auckland's east coast have been deemed unsafe to swim. Photo / Safeswim

Despite the large number of red-flagged beaches, popular swim spots including Takapuna, Milford, Kohimarama and Pt Chevalier beaches are unaffected by the faecal contamination.

Today’s warning comes three months after a sinkhole opened in Parnell, causing wastewater to overflow into the Waitematā Harbour, closing many of the city’s inner harbour beaches for weeks.

The 13-metre-deep hole was caused by a collapsed brick pipe below a private property on St Georges Bay Rd in Parnell that served Central and West Auckland.

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown said decades of underinvestment resulted in the overflow.

Beaches were closed for a month after a rāhui was placed over the harbour.

Deputy Mayor and Ōrākei ward councillor Desley Simpson thanked the community for its understanding and support as Watercare fixed the wastewater discharges into the harbour.

“This was a distressing situation with major impacts on recreational users of our Waitematā beaches and waterways, as well as wider impacts for Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei.

“I know there have been economic impacts for organisations which run water-based events and activities.”

Watercare’s chief operations officer Mark Bourne said there had been “a monumental effort from our staff, contractors and suppliers to get the bypass planned, the pipes laid, the pump station excavated and concreted, and have six large temporary pumps installed and tested”.