Heavy rain causes dirty Melb beaches

If you're heading to a Melbourne beach this Labour Day weekend, you might want to stay out of the water.

The Environment Protection Authority on Friday forecast fair water quality that "may not be suitable for swimming" across 34 of its 36 monitored beach sites around Port Phillip Bay.

Heavy rain over the past few days has increased stormwater runoff, which has caused an elevated risk of high bacterial levels in the water that can lead to gastroenteritis.

People are advised to check beach reports on the EPA website before taking a dip and shouldn't swim near stormwater or river outlets.