Look before you leap: More than 60pc of rivers unswimmable
SUMMER is here but swimmers are being warned to check the water quality of their favourite swim spots before they take the plunge – with 65 per cent of rivers considered unsafe for swimming according to data.
The long-term grades for more than 600 of New Zealand’s favourite swimming spots are provided by Land Air Water Aotearoa, using information collected by councils over five summers.
It found nearly 200 of the country’s coastal, lake and river swimming spots – 32 per cent – had an overall poor grade, with high counts of bacteria.
Just 10 per cent had an excellent grade for swimming water standards.
And when the microscope is placed on rivers the statistics are far worse: 65 per cent of monitored rivers have a poor long-term grade and just 2 per cent have an excellent grade.
The long-term grade is a precautionary guide for the most popular and accessible swimming spots but looks only at bacteria levels. It does not include toxic algae or factors such as swift river flows or tidal flows, which may make a site unsuitable for swimming.
The grades also don’t include sites from the Auckland region, although Auckland Council provides information about sites with long-term alerts.
Land Air Water Aotearoa advises swimmers to look at the latest information for their local swimming spot, as well as avoiding swimming after heavy or prolonged rain.
Rain can wash pollutants such as sewage and animal waste into the water, putting swimmers at risk of
gastrointestinal illnesses, respiratory diseases, and eye, ear, nose and throat symptoms.
A total of 164 popular river swimming sites have long-term poor water quality, including well-known spots such as the Waitangi River at Wakelins and the Kerikeri River at the iconic Stone Store – both in the Far North, and both have long-term poor grades.
Whanga¯rei’s Ha¯tea River at Whanga¯rei Falls is also a no-go.
Swimming spots with longterm alerts in Auckland include the lagoons at Piha North and Piha South.
In Taranaki, a¯kura River in New Plymouth, Te Henui Stream at East End and Waitara River are all unsafe for swimming. The Pa¯tea River at King Edward
Park is also poor.
Whanganui’s namesake Whanganui River is graded poor at several spots, including the Town Bridge.
The Manawatu¯ River at Foxton and Levin’s Waikawa Estuary also have poor
swimming water quality.
Canterbury has several rivers that have long-term notices in place because of their poor water quality.
This includes Ashburton River, the Avon River at Kerrs Reach, Selwyn River and
Kaiapoi River.
On the west coast, Seven Mile Creek at Rapahoe is poor.
The poor long-term river grades come just after the Government’s National Environment Standard for Freshwater Management and National Policy Statement came into force on September 3.
The policies aim to improve water quality for rivers, lakes and wetlands within five years, and fix them within a generation, addressing the number one environmental concern for New Zealanders.
The rules include increased environmental and farm monitoring, farm fencing of significant waterways, standards for pugging depths and deadlines for re-sowing crop paddocks.
However, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor said the rules were now being tweaked, with work under way to ensure the regulations were practical to implement.
This week, the farmers behind a tractor protest in Gore launched an online petition to have the freshwater rules rewritten.
65 per cent of monitored rivers have a poor long-term grade and just 2 per cent have an excellent grade.