Public flocks to popular Auckland swimming spot despite poo contamination

Friday, 11 January 2019

A popular central Auckland swimming spot is contaminated with faecal matter.

A popular Auckland swimming spot has been slapped with a public health warning after testing revealed high levels of faecal matter in the water.

However, many swimmers continue to swim at the inner city Oakley Creek waterfall, either ignoring the the health risk or having missed the warning signage.

Results from Auckland Council testing at the waterfall in Waterview before Christmas revealed high levels of 'faecal indicator bacteria'.

Swimming in the falls increased the risk of contracting a variety of gastrointestinal illnesses (stomach upsets), respiratory illnesses (cold and flu) or skin infections.

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Signs that were erected by the council on December 20 appear to have been ignored by many swimmers and not seen by others.

The matter had not been helped by the fact a sign had been stolen earlier this week.

Wendy John, the chairwoman of preservation group Friends of Oakley Creek, said Oakley was part of a catchment that had combined sewer and stormwater pipes.

'When heavy rain falls in Auckland, that wastewater flows into the stream. Unfortunately that's what happened before Christmas and there is now E. coli in the stream,' she said.

Auckland Council was approached for comment about the cause of the contamination, but could not provide information by deadline.

About 20 people were swimming at Oakley Creek when Stuff visited on Tuesday and about 25 on Wednesday afternoon.

Stuff approached a number of swimmers and asked whether they were aware of the health risk.

Some swimmers spoken to by Stuff said they were willing to 'risk it' to cool off.

A teen who wished to be known only as Fetu said he had seen the signs but was 'gonna risk it' because it was so hot.

He had been swimming in the falls for the past week and he hadn't gotten sick yet so he would keep swimming there, he said.

A family picnicking at the falls, who didn't give their names, said they were unaware of the contamination until a Stuff reporter pointed out the sign.

'Oh well, the kids are in there now,' one of the women said.

This sign is one of two posted around the waterfall, it was stolen on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.

A group of three teenaged boys holding towels saw the sign on the fence as they approached the waterfall, then turned around and walked back the way they'd come.

Takanini resident Alex Callaghan said he discovered the waterfall on Sunday after running a Google search on the best freshwater swimming holes in Auckland.

His search returned a Stuff story from 2017, listing Oakley Creek Falls as the third-best spot.

Oakley Creek Waterfall is the only inner-city waterfall in Auckland.

'It looked nice so I picked up some KFC and took it down there, but as I was walking down the path to the waterfall I saw a sign hidden in the trees that said a public health warning was in place,' he said.

Callaghan said 'there was no way in hell' he was going for a dip after seeing the sign and it's put him 'off swimming there forever'.

'I was shocked to see about 30 people in and around the water, heaps of kids and families.'

He wasn't sure whether the swimmers were aware of the warning – the 'sign wasn't that obvious', he said – or whether they had just chosen to ignore the signs.

The contamination of Oakley comes as the Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) has seen a huge spike in campylobacter cases – 110 per cent more than the same time last year.

There had also been a 50 per cent increase in cryptosporidium cases in 2018, compared with the same period last year.

However, giardia cases were down 5 per cent on this time last year.

ARPHS medical officer of Health Dr Jay Harrower said often people with those diseases had been in contact with contaminated water, but there were other sources of infection, such as food for campylobacter and handling animals for cryptosporidium.

'People can be infected by swimming in contaminated fresh and sea water, swimming pools and spas, as well as drinking from contaminated domestic water tanks,' Harrower said.

Gastroenteritis had a number of symptoms – diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach pains and fever.

It was particularly dangerous for infants, elderly people and people with a suppressed immune system.

'Swimmers in contaminated water have the highest risk of infection if they put their head under the water or swallow it, and obviously the risk increases the longer you stay in the water,' Harrower said.

Safeswim, an Auckland Council led initiative, alerts the public to the swimming status of popular beaches around the region.

Oakley Creek was not currently on the database but Safeswim programme manager Nick Vigar said freshwater sites were being added to the monitoring programme.

The sign that had been stolen would be replaced, Vigar said.