Source Information
The Greater Wellington Regional Council monitors water quality at popular swimming beaches throughout the Wellington 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, the level of Enterococci is determined using predictive modelling year round. Enteroccoci is a faecal indicator bacteria used to indicate the level of harmful pathogens in the water.
See information on recreational water quality monitoring in New Zealand in this 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 Enterococci predicted result was within the guidelines (0 - 280 Enterococci / 100 mL).
Beach sites are shown as a RED swim icon if the latest predicted result exceeded standards (280 Enterococci / 100 mL) or is known to frequently exceed 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.
See www.lawa.org.nz/swim for up to date information on current warnings and alerts, weather conditions, tides, real-time water temperatures, what facilities are available, the monitoring history at this site and helpful factsheets.
