Holidaymakers are being asked to avoid 12 Auckland beaches because they are contaminated by faeces.
An alert on the SafeSwim website today advises that water-quality models predict levels of Faecal Indicator Bacteria that exceed national guidelines for swimming, based on guidance published by the Ministry of Health and Ministry for the Environment.
Eight beaches in West Auckland and two in central Auckland have long-term alerts which rate them as no-swim zones.
Among them is Bethells lagoon, despite the fact the beach was recently rated as possessing some of the best water quality out of the city's beaches.
Bethells beach and Piha North were rated as the top two for water quality in the Auckland region, with almost 100 per cent clean water last summer.
