Visitors are being warned to stay out of Lake Dunstan at the Bendigo camping area following unacceptable levels of E. coli at the site which may have been caused by the toilet block there.
But Land and Information New Zealand (Linz), which manages the site through contractors, has defended the limited signage erected at the site warning of the issue, saying more substantial signs would be erected ``as soon as possible''.
Linz started issuing warnings about the E. coli outbreak on Tuesday and issued a more detailed advisory about the incident yesterday.
Linz deputy chief executive Crown property Jerome Sheppard said the cause of the ``unacceptably high'' levels of E. coli had not yet been identified, but it could have been the toilet block at the Bendigo site, or another source.
``It is far too early to determine the cause of the contamination.''
He said the disposal process from the toilets involved waste from the toilets being contained in septic tanks where it underwent a partial treatment process. The partially treated liquid waste then travelled from the tanks to the disposal field, where it was further broken down by natural processes and treated by the soil.
Following the E. coli contamination, which was confirmed on Tuesday, site contractors were doing an ``immediate clearing and cleaning of the toilet septic tanks'' at Bendigo, Mr Sheppard said.
Extra portable toilets were being put in place, and visitors were being advised not to swim, fish or take water from the area in Lake Dunstan immediately surrounding the Bendigo site.
At this stage, there were no concerns about the toilets at other Linz sites such as Lowburn, which operated on a different system and was connected to the town's sewerage system, he said.
Mr Sheppard said additional signs would be erected at Bendigo as soon as possible.
When the Otago Daily Times visited the site yesterday afternoon, the only signs seen were two notices attached to a board closing the entrance to the toilet block.
There were no signs at the entrance to the campsite, or at the water's edge, and visitors spoken to by the Otago Daily Times criticised the lack of signs and said people who did not go to the toilet block would not know of the E. coli contamination.
Mr Sheppard said the signs put up at Bendigo yesterday were temporary.
