Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) is encouraging people to swap the beach for the pool for the next week with recent heavy rains likely to impact water quality at all bay beaches.
Thursday’s thunderstorms recorded as much as 48mm of rain in bayside areas and showers are forecasted to continue into next week.
“These heavy rains will result in poor water quality for a number of days,” EPA Marine Specialist Applied Scientist Alison Kemp said.
“Heavy rains affect water quality in the bay because as the rain flows into stormwater drains, it collects everything from leaves and litter to animal wastes and chemicals. The stormwater then discharges into the bay.
“We know most people aren’t keen for a swim while it’s cold and raining, but poor water quality can persist for many days after the rain event when the weather may have improved.
“Even though it’s summer, these events are not uncommon for Melbourne and we actually had a similar week of forecasted poor quality due to storms last December.
“We encourage everyone to keep up to date with daily water quality forecasts at the Yarra and Bay website, and ‘make sure it’s ok, check Yarra and Bay’.”
Through the website yarraandbay.vic.gov.au, people can sign up to receive SMS alerts when water quality at their nominated beaches is poor and see alerts on issues affecting the bay and its water catchments.
Everyone can help improve water quality in the bay by always picking up after their dog, putting litter in the bin and washing their car on the grass to stop soapy run-off. This ensures our stormwater is as free of contaminants as possible.
Report pollution to EPA’s 24-hour hotline 1300 EPA VIC (1300 372 842).