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Sewage closes Perth beach

A pollution control officer collects samples at the beach.

Millions of litres of raw sewage may have been flowing into the ocean off a popular beach in Perth's southern suburbs for up to two weeks, fuelling concerns it could have made people sick.

Safety Bay resident Sharyn Ward said her husband became violently ill after going for a routine swim off Waikiki Beach on Sunday through an area that was yesterday closed because of sewage contamination.

The Water Corporation confirmed this week a failure at a pumping station caused 3.4 million litres of wastewater to spill into Safety Bay near the corner of Malibu Road and Safety Bay Road.

The incident forced the closure of the beach between the Bent Street jetty and View Road and prompted warnings for people to stay out of the water and avoid fishing in the area.

Although the Water Corp stressed the failure was fixed as soon as it was identified, it acknowledged the spill may have lasted several days.

Mrs Ward said her husband had been vomiting and had diarrhoea since swimming in Safety Bay and questioned how an organisation like the Water Corp could have allowed a spill to go undetected for so long.

She also criticised its failure to alert residents sooner.

The comments came as debate flared over whether State-imposed budget cuts had contributed to the spill, with shadow water minister David Kelly arguing there was a link.

Mr Kelly cited a confidential Water Corp report accidentally released last year, saying it warned that funding cuts heightened risks of the utility's assets failing.

Water Corp Perth region asset manager Michael Wright said the spill and warnings in the report were in no way connected and noted that "99 per cent" of what leaked was water.