Melbourne beaches ‘not suitable’ for swimming after severe storms

Melburnians are being warned not to swim in some parts of Port Phillip Bay due to a “high risk” of contracting various infections following recent severe storms.

Melburnians are being warned to be careful when swimming this weekend as the city gets its first burst of summer.

Water quality forecasts from the Environment Protection Authority for Friday – when temperatures are expected to reach 32C – have marked many spots along Port Phillip Bay as “may not be suitable for swimming”.

Particularly down the peninsula, many beaches are on alert, attributed to “recent rain” and “stormwater pollution”.

It comes after incessant rain wreaked havoc across the state earlier this week, with residents in Seymour and Yea told to evacuate over rising floodwaters on Monday.

Water quality forecasts have marked many spots along Port Phillip Bay as ‘may not be suitable for swimming’. Picture: EPA

Melburnians are being warned to be careful when swimming this weekend. Picture: David Crosling

Werribee, Carrum, South Melbourne and Port Melbourne have all been marked “poor” and “not suitable for swimming”.

St Kilda, Brighton, Williamstown, Mordialloc, Frankston and Mornington have been marked “fair”, indicating they may be safe for swimming.

Areas further away from the city, including Mount Martha, Sorrento, Queenscliff and Geelong, have been marked as “suitable for swimming” with no rain or stormwater pollution detected.

The EPA warns Victorians to avoid swimming near stormwater or river outlets 24 to 48 hours after heavy rain.

“Always check for signs of pollution before swimming. For example, stormwater drains flowing, murky water, bad smell, and rubbish,” their website reads.

The downpour of rain and recent storms has also turned the Yarra River brown.

Leader of the Aquatic Environmental Stress Research Group at RMIT University Professor Vincent Pettigrove said when Victoria received large amounts of rain, surface run-off transported soil and sediment from the land into our rivers, which then runs into our oceans through Port Phillip Bay.

The EPA warns Victorians to avoid swimming near stormwater or river outlets 24 to 48 hours after heavy rain. Picture: AAP

Rivers, including the Yarra, can get run-off after storms. Picture: Alex Coppel

“The rivers can get run-off of manure from farms, dog faecal contamination from the street or human wastewater,” he said.

“It is generally high risk for humans, they can contract various infections. When these events happen, people have to be careful.”

Professor Pettigrove said the Yarra River is known for having “poor water clarity”.

“The Yarra is already particularly poor when it comes to clarity. It has really fine yellow clay soils that disperse the light quite a lot,” he said.

“So even when the Yarra is relatively clean it looks muddy. It looks like chocolate at the moment.”

EPA forecasts water quality for 36 beaches in Port Phillip Bay. They can be monitored online at epa.vic.gov.au.