Pollution from recent heavy rain means a number of beaches in the Auckland region are a high risk for swimmers.
Browns Bay had been earlier listed as one of the beaches to avoid swimming at. Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
Auckland Council is warning people to stay away from the swimming spots because of a high risk of illness caused by wastewater.
Warnings are in place for Kohimarama Beach and St Heliers Beach in the central east, and several beaches in the Waitākere region are off limits.
Earlier there were over 50 beaches with a red alert on the Safeswim website.
Safeswim says water quality models predict levels of faecal bacteria that exceed national guidelines for swimming.
Surf lifesavers are urging swimmers not to ignore signs warning about polluted waters.
Surf Lifesaving Northern Region Operations Manager Alan Gibson says there is publicly-available information about water quality at every beach, on the Safeswim website.
The Swimsafe website shows alerts as at 2.50pm. Photo: Swimsafe
Meanwhile, the National Party says the state of Auckland's beaches is unacceptable and needs to be investigated by Parliament.
In the last Parliament Labour voted against a proposal by National for Parliament's Environment select committee to conduct a formal inquiry into Auckland's beaches.
National's Environment spokesperson Scott Simpson says there will be another chance for Labour to support the inquiry in Feburary.
