Local beaches pass water-quality tests
Beaches in the Ballina Shire Council area have received an excellent report card this summer, with almost all sites passing swimming water quality guidelines during November, December and February, according to results released by Ballina Shire Council and NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change’s Beachwatch program.
Beachwatch Acting Manager Meredith Campey said all swimming locations passed national guidelines for faecal coliforms, and on occasions some sites failed for enterococci, the two indicators used to assess swimming water quality, during the months November, December and February.
The sites tested in the program are:
Ocean beaches: Shelly Beach and Seven Mile Beach
Lake sites: Lake Ainsworth East, Lake Ainsworth West and Lake Ainsworth South
Estuary Sites: Shaws Bay East, Shaws Bay West, Shaws Bay North and The Serpentine.
During January, 360mm of rain fell, which was 200mm above the long-term average for the month and resulted in extensive flooding in the region.
All but two sites, Lake Ainsworth South and Lake Ainsworth West, failed guidelines in January, with elevated levels of enterococci associated with heavy rain and flooding during the month.
“This serves as a reminder to always avoid swimming during these heavy rainfall events due to the risk of pollution from contaminated floodwaters,” Ballina’s Senior Environmental Health Officer Kerri Watts said.
“Monitoring was being conducted by Council over the 2007–2008 summer season to provide the community and visitors alike with information on beach water quality.
“The results for this summer confirm the findings from previous years – water quality in dry weather conditions is great, with low bacterial readings generally showing no evidence of contamination.
“However, we do recommend that people avoid swimming in creeks and estuaries for a day or more after rainfall due to the impacts of stormwater discharges.
“There are many things that the community and visitors to the area can do to help keep our beaches clean. By placing litter in the bin or taking it home with you and picking up pet droppings, we can all help ensure pollution stays out of the stormwater and our waterways remain clean.”
Assessment of beach water quality is based on guidelines published by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) guidelines for recreational use of water.
