A health warning has been lifted on Thursday, after it was issued for Corsair Bay, Cass Bay and Rāpaki Bay on Saturday. Photo: nigelspiers/123RF
Health warnings have been lifted at Corsair Bay and nearby beaches in Lyttelton Harbour after an overflow of raw sewage last weekend.
The sewage leak at the popular swimming spot was caused by a septic tank overflowing when bottles were flushed down public toilets.
A health warning was issued for Corsair Bay, Cass Bay and Rāpaki Bay on Saturday.
National Public Health Service medical officer of health Dr Cheryl Brunton said the latest water testing results showed faecal bacteria levels at these sites were now below guideline values.
"This is great news for swimmers and other recreational water users who would have been avoiding the water following the high levels of contamination," she said.
Christchurch City Council said the leak occurred after the septic system was blocked by items - including bottles - being put in the public toilets at Corsair Bay.
Council community parks manager Al Hardy said there were waste bins at the beach that people should have been using.
"The only thing that I can think is people may think that the council public facilities are more robust than their ones at home, but actually that's not the case - if you clog your toilet at home, what does it do, it backs up on you, and the same thing has kind of occurred out here," he said.
"The lucky thing is there's a very small amount of waste that would've been overflowing it would've just been successive flushes if you will, once the system had backed up."
The Canterbury Regional Council had been collecting water samples daily since the sewage leak.
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