Manawatu River at Foxton

Manawatu River Estuary provides one of the most diverse selections of bird habitat at any one place in New Zealand. In 2005 the estuary received Ramsar status, an inter-government treaty on the conservation of wetlands.

This popular recreational area is found in the Foxton Beach township, 5km west of Foxton. This spot is at the boating ramp, and not so often used for swimming, as the beach is further downstream, but more for boating (sailing and power boats), jet skiing and fishing. Nearby are parks and reserves, and a bird sanctuary in the Manawat? River estuary.

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Water Quality

Passed water quality tests 60-95% of the time
Historical Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on April 23th, 2023. The Swim Guide - New Zealand updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on April 23th, 2023 at 10:20 PM.

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Monitoring Frequency

Source Information

Marlborough Regional Council monitors water quality at popular swimming spots throughout the Malborough region.

Water quality data on Swim Guide is sourced from the LAWA Can I Swim Here? website. www.lawa.org.nz/swim

At this site, water is regularly tested for levels of E. coli during the summer months. This faecal indicator bacteria is used to indicate the level of harmful pathogens in the water.

See information on recreational water quality monitoring in New Zealand in the LAWA factsheet: https://www.lawa.org.nz/learn/factsheets/coastal-and-freshwater-recreation-monitoring/

Beach sites are shown as a GREEN swim icon if the latest E. coli test result was in the range of 0 - 550 E. coli / 100 mL.

Beach sites are shown as a RED swim icon if the latest test result exceeded 550 E. coli / 100 mL or if this site frequently exceeds the standard or there is a temporary water quality issue outside the routine testing programme (e.g. sewage overflow).

See information on the standards for recreational water quality monitoring in New Zealand in the 'What do the swim icons mean?' LAWA factsheet.

LAWA recommends for all sites, to avoid swimming for 2 - 3 days after significant rain, even for sites that normally have good water quality.

A good rule of thumb is to check that you can see your toes in knee deep water.

See www.lawa.org.nz/swim for up to date information on current warnings and alerts, weather conditions, real-time water temperature and flow rates, and what facilities are available, the monitoring history at this site and helpful factsheets.

Water Quality Graph