Wairarapa water quality report 'generally good'

Many places in Wairarapa are good for swimming except after rain, a new Recreational Water Quality report card shows.

Our recently released report card shows water quality was particularly good last summer due to the dry weather.

Last season only one sample of the 289 taken did not meet the guidelines for safe swimming compared to eight sites last year. This is because less rainfall resulted in less contamination being washed off the surrounding catchments into rivers.

"Rainfall washes contamination from surrounding urban and rural land into waterways. We encourage people to wait two days after heavy rain before swimming again.

Nearly three quarters of sites we monitor in the Wairarapa had an overall A or B grade which mean there was a low risk of illness," says GWRC Senior Environmental Scientist Summer Greenfield.

The best sites for swimming were Castle Point and Riversdale beaches and the Waingawa and Waiohine rivers.

"Unfortunately the warm, dry weather created perfect conditions for toxic algae which was a problem in the Waipoua River" says Ms Greenfield.

We'll be starting our upcoming summer monitoring programme in December. We'll keep the community continually informed of water quality so they can get out and enjoy their recreational activities safely.

 Get copies of our 2015/2016 report cards.

ENDS

Media contact:

021 914 266 or comms@gw.govt.nz