Marlborough’s swimming spots in good shape

Water quality at Marlborough coastal and river sites is generally good according to Council’s latest Recreational Water Quality update.

Environmental Scientist Steffi Henkel told July’s Environment and Planning Committee that Marlborough’s most popular beaches and river swimming spots were monitored throughout summer.

Nine coastal sites and 10 rivers had samples taken during the November to March summer period, which were then analysed for indicator bacteria concentrations.

“Most samples indicated low health risks and coastal sites had no or only one sample with bacteria concentrations indicating an increased health risk,” Ms Henkel said.

River sites had a slightly higher number of samples with elevated bacteria levels at Rai Falls, Ohinemahuta River at domain and Taylor River at Henry Street having the highest number of samples with unsafe bacteria concentrations.

Ms Henkel said urban sites such as the Taylor River were always going to have an increased risk of contamination due to the presence of dogs/ducks and occasional breakages in sewage pipes.

All sites carried an elevated risk after heavy rainfall.

“Still the majority of samples at these sites showed a low health risk from waterborne disease,” she said.

In 2003, the Ministry for the Environment and the Ministry for Health released a document to help assess the risk to swimmers outlining guideline levels for bacteria concentrations and flagging them red (unsafe), amber (increased risk) or green (safe).

Sites were monitored during the warmer months and the collated information is available on the LAWA website https://www.lawa.org.nz/explore-data/marlborough-region