More than 60pc of NZ rivers unswimmable

Summer is here but swimmers are being warned to check the water quality of their favourite swim spots before they take the plunge – with 65 per cent of rivers considered unsafe for swimming according to data.

The long-term grades for more than 600 of New Zealand’s favourite swimming spots are provided by Land Air Water Aotearoa, using information collected by councils over five summers.

It found nearly 200 of the country’s coastal, lake and river swimming spots – 32 per cent – had an overall poor grade, with high counts of bacteria. Just 10 per cent had an excellent grade for swimming water standards.

And when the microscope is placed on rivers the statistics are far worse: 65 per cent of monitored rivers have a poor long-term grade and just 2 per cent have an excellent grade.

The long-term grade is a precautionary guide for the most popular and accessible swimming spots but looks only at bacteria levels. It does not include toxic algae or factors such as swift river flows or tidal flows, which may make a site unsuitable for swimming.

The grades also don’t include sites from the Auckland region, although Auckland Council provides information about sites with long-term alerts.

Land Air Water Aotearoa advises swimmers to look at the latest information for their local spots, and avoid swimming after heavy or prolonged rain, which can wash pollutants such as sewage and animal waste into the water, putting swimmers at risk of gastrointestinal illnesses, respiratory diseases, and eye, ear, nose and throat symptoms.

A total of 164 popular river swimming sites have long-term poor water quality.

The poor long-term river grades come just after the Government’s National Environment Standard for Freshwater Management and National Policy Statement came into force on September 3. The policies aim to improve water quality for rivers, lakes and wetlands within five years, and fix them within a generation, addressing the number one environmental concern for New Zealanders.

The rules include increased environmental and farm monitoring, farm fencing of significant waterways, standards for pugging depths and deadlines for resowing crop paddocks.

However, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor said the rules were being tweaked, with work under way to ensure the regulations were practical.

The farmers behind a tractor protest in Gore launched an online petition to have the freshwater rules rewritten.