Auckland Council and Watercare have placed a temporary public health warning at Browns Bay beach this afternoon.

Water samples taken at the stormwater outlet near the beach, reveal there is elevated levels of E.coli discharging from the outlet. This means the beach is not safe for swimming until the issue is rectified.

People are being advised not to swim at this beach until further notice.

A discharge from the stormwater network generally indicates illegal cross connections from wastewater to stormwater. Initial investigations have yet to find the source of the problem, however some damage to wastewater pipe have been found, likely caused by debris/foreign objects in the pipe.

“Watercare will repair this damaged section next week and at the same time Auckland Council will continue to investigate any illegal wastewater cross connections to the stormwater network” says Anin Nama, Watercare’s Network Efficiency Manager.

“We will keep you informed of this work and outcomes, as it progresses.”

“Given the bathing season is fast approaching, both Auckland Council Healthy Waters and Watercare are working together to rectify the issue as fast as we can.” says Nick Vigar, Auckland Council Safeswim programme manager.

A black pin will now be displayed on the Safeswim website until further notice to indicate the risk at the beach.

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