Filthiest beaches

Auckland's dirty little secret is finally out - and it's bad news for the city's southern beach lovers.

Mangere Bridge, Kawakawa Bay and Weymouth beaches have just earned the title of Auckland's filthiest beaches - all are considered unsafe because of high levels of faecal discharge.

East Auckland's Mellons Bay and Cockle Bay beaches also don't fare well in the latest water-quality tests carried out by Auckland councils, recording poor grades of water quality.

Both beaches were deemed to be safe to swim at, although permanent warning signs may be erected.

Mangere Bridge and Weymouth beaches are considered unsafe because of their close proximity to the city's water treatment plant, while Kawakawa Bay gets the thumbs down because there is no reticulated wastewater treatment system in the area.

However, on the whole, all beaches covered by the Auckland City Council's jurisdiction are safe.So too are beaches in Franklin and in North Shore City Council's patch.

Rodney District Council's latest water-quality results have cleared all its beaches for safe swimming.

Each council must carry out yearly monitoring for 20 weeks starting in November.

Latest samples reveal most of Auckland beaches returned safe results, meeting the government's guidelines for acceptable levels of faecal coliform and enterococcus bacteria.

Swimming in contaminated water can lead to respiratory illnesses (colds).

There is also evidence that swimming in contaminated water can lead to skin, eye and ear infections.