Waitākere Ranges Local Board has welcomed the news that the long-term public health warning for Armour Bay has been lifted, with the beach now swimmable this summer.
Waitākere Ranges Local Board Chair Greg Presland says that it is fantastic news.
“We are delighted at this news and that the beach is now considered low-risk for most of the time.
“Although there will still be high-risk periods occurring around some rainfall events, this will enable our community to fully utilise the beach and swim this summer without needing to worry about a risk to their health.
“It’s also a good reminder that Armour Bay property owners are generally not on the sewer town supply so it’s important property owners are required to regularly check and maintain their on site waste water systems.”
Utilising better data collection
The lifting of the no-swimming advisory is a result of better data collection thanks to the council’s Safeswim programme, which has enabled more accurate modelling.
The move has been endorsed by the Auckland Regional Public Health Officer.
Long-term public health warnings have been in place for up to 20 years at a number of Manukau Harbour beaches where historic monitoring has shown frequent exceedances of public health guidelines.
Check before you swim
Although long-term public health warnings are being removed, there may be instances where Safeswim advises against swimming at these beaches because of localised issues brought about by rain and storms, or damage to infrastructure. This is why it’s important to check before you swim at Safeswim.
Mayor Phil Goff says, “Safeswim has provided us with the most precise and up-to-the-minute understanding of water quality in our city’s history. It has helped us to target and tackle serious issues at our most-loved beaches, quickly and in a systematic manner.
“Improving the swimmability of our beaches won’t happen overnight, but with the Water Quality Targeted Rate delivering $452 million investment in fixing water pollution we are going to achieve in 10 years what would normally have taken us 30. It’s great that we are making more beaches safer for Aucklanders to enjoy."
