Piha Beach South of the Lion Rock

Source Information

Beaches in Auckland are monitored by Safeswim, a program which emerged out of a partnership between Auckland Council, Surf Life Saving Northern Region, and Auckland Regional Public Health Service. Safeswim forecasts water quality and real-time public health alerts and safety risks at 84 beaches and 8 freshwater locations around Auckland. Safeswim uses predictive modelling to provide the public with real-time water quality and safety information. Predictive modelling allows Safeswim to forecast recreational water quality so that bathers and other recreational water users have better access to the current and future status of their beaches. This allows recreational water users to make better, more informed decisions about when and where to get in the water. Water quality predictions are made using statistical modelling. Models include historical and current water quality test results, as well as other environmental factors such as wind, rain, tides, and sewage events like CSOs. Safeswim’s models are updated every 10 minutes, and display results using 3 risk categories: People are exposed to very low risk of infection from contact with the water. The beach’s water quality doesn’t present an immediate health risk to those in direct contact with it. People are exposed to a low to moderate risk of infection from contact with the water. This is the minimum acceptable state. The beach’s water quality still meets an acceptable standard for swimming. People are exposed to a moderate to high risk of infection from contact with the water. The beach’s water quality is considered unsuitable for swimming. Swim Guide interprets these categories in our pass/fail system as: Very low risk and low to moderate risk categories receive a GREEN/PASS in Swim Guide. Moderate to high risk categories receive a RED/FAIL in Swim Guide. The predictive models use New Zealand’s Ministry of Health and Ministry of the Environment’s Microbiological Water Quality Guidelines for Recreational Water. The Guidelines are: Marine water : Single sample value > 140 Enterococcus / 100 ml Freshwater : Single sample value > 260 E.coli / 100 ml