The best performing beaches so far this summer have been ranked in EPA Victoria’s mid summer Beach Report, with recent heavy rains ensuring many of our favourite bayside spots were not gold star.
Portsea and Mt Martha on the Mornington Peninsula and Santa Casa on the Bellarine were the top three performers followed by Black Rock, Safety Beach, Sandringham, Eastern Beach, Portarlington, St Leonards and The Dell making up the top 10.
Data for the report is collected from EPA’s Beach Report that predicts water quality and provides twice daily forecasts for 36 bay beaches between 10am and 3pm, 3pm and 12am and the next 24 hours.
“With consistent heavy rain in December and into the new year, beaches located near the outlets of major rivers and creeks had poor or fair water quality forecasts for longer than beaches further away from major waterways,” EPA Chief Environmental Scientist Professor Mark Taylor said.
“Poor or fair forecasts were driven by stormwater impacts, floods and in January, algal blooms were also impacting beaches at Sandridge, Port Melbourne and South Melbourne. Essentially what is upstream gets flushed downstream and into the bay.”
Professor Taylor said the rainfall records painted the picture.
“From mid-November 2023 to mid-December 2023, average rainfall in a 48-hour period before sampling was 4.9mm and only nine beaches had water quality results not up to swim standards,” Professor Taylor said.
“From mid-December 2023 to mid-January 2024, 48-hour rainfall averages increased to 20.4 mm resulting in 31 beaches, nearly three and a half times the previous rate, not meeting swim standards.”
Professor Taylor said it was great to be able to use science and data to help Victorians know their beaches and plan accordingly.
“If you’re heading out to the beach, especially this weekend when it will be hot, check the Beach Report so you can enjoy the right beach for you.”
