Contact Recreation Sampling
The Council monitors water quality annually at a range of popular water recreation sites, during the warmer months of the year. Numbers of E. coli and Enterrococci bacteria are used as indicators of pathogen risk for swimming at a site.
Sites are either sampled once or twice a month. This gives an indication of the level of disease causing pathogens in the water and the potential risk to water users at that time. However, due to the limited number of samples taken, the Regional Council suggests the risk status be used as a guide only.
During and after heavy rain the risk to users is typically greater, particularly downstream of farmland or urban areas. It is a good idea is to avoid swimming in these areas for at least two days after heavy rainfall.
The table below shows the monthly sampling results for each site. It will be updated as results become available.
Due to the limited number of samples taken the Regional Council suggests the risk status above be used as a guide only. The current risk category assigned to a particular site is made by comparing results of individual samples to National guidelines.
The bathing beach monitoring programme has been revised this season and some changes have been made. The Lake Kaniere sites have been dropped from the programme due to consistently good water quality. Several other sites have been removed from the programme due to lack of use for contact recreation. Some new sites have been added to assess the water quality during summer, these sites may be revised in future.