Recreational swimming and water quality programme

Once again the summer holiday period is upon us. Beaches, lakes and streams will soon be inundated with visitors, campers and those retiring to holiday homes for a bit of fun and relaxation.

The Recreational Swimming Water Quality Programme (RSWQP) is a joint project that is managed by the Northland Regional Council (NRC), in partnership with the Northland District Health Board (DHB), and the Far North District Council (FNDC), Whangarei District Council (WDC) and Kaipara District Council (KDC).

The programme involves collecting water samples from a number of the region’s most popular freshwater and coastal swimming sites on a weekly basis throughout the summer, to measure the amount of bacteria present in the water. Sites are graded weekly according to the amount of bacteria present – green for ‘safe’, orange for ‘caution’ and red for ‘unsafe’.

Results are displayed at the end of each week on NRC’s website at www.nrc.govt.nz/swimming and as a link on Kaipara District Council’s website.  Warning signs are erected each week at sites that have been graded as ‘unsafe’.

Three sampling sites have been deleted from weekly sampling runs this season and will remain off the list in future.  They are:

• Kaihu River at the swimming hole next to the Top 10 Holiday Park at Trounsen Park
  The site will no longer be tested because test have shown the cause of contamination is ruminant i.e. livestock.  A permanent ‘Health Notice’ sign has been erected near the swimming hole advising the public not to swim within 48 hours after rainfall.

• Omamari Beach Stream by the carpark
  This site will no longer be tested for the same reasons as Kaihu River and a permanent sign advising the public that the stream is regularly contaminated has been erected at the carpark.

• Mangawhai Harbour by the pontoon below Eveline Street
  Removed because it is no longer seen to be a risk.