Waingawa River at Kaituna

The Waingawa River is a river of the Wellington and Manawatu-Wanganui Regions of New Zealand's North Island. A major tributary of the Ruamahanga River, it flows generally southeast from its origins close to The Mitre, the highest peak of the Tararua Range. The Waingawa flows through the western suburbs of the city of Masterton and reaches the Ruamahanga 10 kilometres southeast of Carterton.

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COVID-19

Keep your distance from other people.

Practicing social distancing is essential right now. Follow the advice of the health experts. If your community has asked that you remain indoors and away from others, do so. Heading to the beach should only be considered an option if social distancing practices can be followed. Spending a day in any crowded place is the worst thing we can do for our most vulnerable right now and will counter the efforts to curb the virus’ spread.

For more information, please visit the World Health Organization public resource on COVID-19.

Water Quality

Passed water quality tests 60-95% of the time
Historical Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on April 18th, 2021. Swim Guide NZ updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on April 18th, 2021 at 1:00 AM.

For water quality icon legend, click:

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Monitoring Frequency

Source Information

Greater Wellington Regional Council monitors water quality at popular swimming spots throughout the Wellington.

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

At this site, the risk level of E. coli is determined using predictive modelling year round. Potentially toxic algae is also monitored during the summer months. E. coli is a faecal indicator bacteria used to indicate the level of harmful pathogens in the water, and the presence of toxic algae blooms can be harmful to people and animals.

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 predicted result was in the range of 0 - 550 E. coli / 100 mL or the toxic algae level is below 20% coverage on rocks.

Beach sites are shown as a RED swim icon if the latest E. coli predicted result exceeded 550 E. coli / 100 mL or the toxic algae level exceeds 20% coverage or mats are forming on the river's edge.

A RED swim icon status is also assigned if this site frequently exceeds the standards 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.

Toxic algae blooms can form rapidly, and even small amounts can be harmful - stay safe and get to know what to look for here so you can avoid it

(link to https://www.lawa.org.nz/learn/factsheets/potentially-toxic-algae/)

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