Red algal bloom shuts Sydney beaches
Clovelly beach and pool were closed on Tuesday after a red algal bloom spread across the water. Bondi beach is also closed because of the bloom.
- Autoplay OnOff
- Video feedback
- Video settings
Bondi Beach could be closed for up to 36 hours while tests are conducted on the algal bloom that stained the water a red colour this morning.
A spokeswoman for Sydney Water said a maintenance team, including a water quality expert, arrived at Bondi at 11am to carry out extensive tests on site, plus take samples to be tested in laboratories.
''We think it is looking very likely that it is a blue-green algal bloom,'' she said.
Swimmers flout the ban at Bondi Beach. Photo: Edwina Pickles
Algal blooms often appear in hot and humid weather, such as experienced in Sydney during the past three days. An expert from the Department of Water said blue-green algae is often brown, red or pink in colour because of photosynthetic pigment, which gives a red or pink colour to the cells.
The Sydney Water spokeswoman said there appeared to be no issues with the sewage treatment plants at Bondi and Malabar. The managers of those plants had confirmed they were in working order, she said.
While Sydney Water was fairly confident the bloom had not been caused from pollution or sewage, it was doing tests on site to check for faecal coliforms.
Bondi Beach has been closed to swimmers due to suspected algal bloom. Photo: Edwina Pickles
She said those results would be available quickly, but the tests determining what kind of algae was causing the bloom would take as long as 36 hours. Unofficial results would likely be given to Waverley Council, which manages Bondi, within 24 hours.
Bruce Hopkins, the lifeguard co-ordinator for Waverley Council, said the beach was closed early this morning after the lifeguards arrived at 6am.
As the lifeguards prepared the beach for the public, they saw algal bloom "out the back" that began to drift towards the beach.
A red stain from the murky red water at Bondi beach. Photo: Edwina Pickles
"We decided to close the beach and warn the public," said Mr Hopkins. He said the bloom was very obvious and has "a real fishy smell".
"If you can't see it, you can definitely smell it," he said.
Mr Hopkins said he had been working for 21 years as a lifeguard and during that time he'd seen all sorts of algae, including red and blue.
While some algae has been spotted off the shore of neighbouring beaches at Tamarama and Bronte, Mr Hopkins said they were still open. Clovelly has been closed.
Nobody was swimming but webcams showed surfers at the north end of the beach.
A volunteer at the Surf Lifesaving club said the bloom was washing up on shoreline: "It's staining the sand as well."
Fairfax Media photographer Edwina Pickles said the bloom hadn't stopped some people from playing or swimming.
She spotted four swimmers and six surfers and a handful of children building a sandcastle near the water's edge.
"There are also a whole lot of tourists taking photos of the algae," she said.
Most of the bloom is on the sand and sea outside of the Bondi Pavilion. While the algae is staining the water, it isn't visible in the sand.
No comments:
Post a Comment