Waiau River at Tuatapere

Source Information

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