Government has come under fire after waiting almost 24 hours before alerting the public of potentially hazardous raw sewage washing up on south shore beaches.

And yesterday the Opposition blasted Health Minister Trevor Moniz for failing to take earlier action — and accused Government of engaging in “a cover-up” of the problem.

At a press conference yesterday afternoon, held after The Royal Gazette had already broken news of the latest occurrence, Mr Moniz confirmed the presence of greaseballs on two beaches, including Grape Bay. He also acknowledged that Government was first made aware of the hazard on Monday evening.

Earlier this month Mr Moniz announced plans to introduce an emergency warning system to alert the public whenever sewage pollution levels off Bermuda’s beaches hit danger levels, including media advisories and placing warning flags or signs on affected beaches. The step was deemed necessary following a 2013 study that warned that pumping untreated sewage out to sea caused “intermittent contamination” of south shore waters which created a “public health hazard”.

Asked at yesterday’s press conference why Government had not raised the alarm earlier, Mr Moniz asked for forgiveness for the delay, saying: “We are alerting you as we speak.”

Flanked by two Cabinet colleagues and Bermuda Tourism Authority chief Bill Hanbury, the Minister added: “We pulled together the whole team on this first occasion which took a little bit of time, so if you’ll forgive us for not doing it at eight this morning, we had to pull together the team, which we thought was the correct thing to do.”

The Minister stressed that water quality samples taken throughout the week had not indicated contamination arising from the Seabright sewage outfall, despite the sewage balls washing ashore.

Mr Moniz also pointed out that results of tests conducted on water samples taken from a number of beaches on Monday were obtained yesterday and showed water quality to be good.

“I committed in my last press conference to post water sample results as close to real time as possible and to alert the public if two consecutive samples were outside accepted standards,” Mr Moniz said.

“Since April 2013 all of the samples taken have been within the standards. As a result no alerts have been issued.

“Additional samples will be taken this week and results will be made available to the public.

“I must stress that the presence of greaseballs does not necessarily mean the water is contaminated. There are two separate issues. We have to separate the issues of grease being discharged from the Seabright outfall from any potential public health risks posed by waste discharge,” he said.

Despite those assurances, last night the Opposition Progressive Labour Party condemned Government’s handling of the issue, claiming it represented an embarrassment to Bermuda and “a clear and present danger to our very standard of life”.

In a statement published on the PLP’s Facebook page, Shadow Health Minister Zane DeSilva said: “The OBA has once again been exposed as having lied to the people of Bermuda regarding the environmental conditions surrounding our Island.

“The environmental safety and security of Bermuda is paramount, not just to maintain our viability as a tourism destination, but for the safety and well-being of everyone who calls this island home. For the OBA to engage in a cover-up of this problem is part of a pattern of deceptive behaviour.

“The ongoing environmental nightmare playing out over the media is not just embarrassing to Bermuda but represents a clear and present danger to our very standard of life. It is obvious that this problem requires a swift and decisive response designed to target and punish those who are contributing to the environmental crisis.

“So far the OBA have deceived the public, failed to address this issue, failed to get tough with the people causing this issue and failed to be honest with the people of Bermuda about the true state of our environment.”

Mr Moniz yesterday claimed that Parks crews had been at work in the morning clearing the beaches of greaseballs. However, the deposits were still visible at Grape Bay late yesterday afternoon.

Paeder Redmond, who was walking along the beach with his son and dog, told The Royal Gazette: “I learned about [the sewage balls] on the news the other night, and then I just came down today and saw them here. There’s a lot of them. It’s gross. It’s faeces and grease. I just hope the dog doesn’t eat them.”

Another resident, Ian Taylor, was on the beach watching as his two children swam in the surf. Once informed of the presence of the sewage balls, Mr Taylor quickly called his sons onto land.

“It’s the unknown that’s concerning,” he said. “It seems fine. It seems like a big ocean, but we’ve heard about a bunch of things happening and we’d rather be safe than sorry, especially since it’s not that warm anyway.

With the first cruise ship of the season docking in Hamilton yesterday, Mr Taylor said the issue remains a concern for tourism.

“It’s a little concerning being that tourism is a pillar of the economy. You’d think they would be dealing with this right away.”

One jogger who said she runs along Grape Bay beach every day, said the sewage balls were more common than Government had made them out to be.

“This happens more than two or three times,” said the woman, who asked not to be named. “It’s more like ten times a year. To be frank, whenever you get these you normally get Portuguese man o’ war at the same time because there’s enough wind to push them over the reef.”