10 December 2019

With the arrival of summer, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council is encouraging people to get out and enjoy the great swimming spots the region has to offer.

‘Swim Thru Summer’ is a reminder to check your favourite spots are good to go before taking the plunge at our superb beaches and rivers, says the Regional Council’s Marine and Coastal Scientist Anna Madarasz-Smith.

“Hawke’s Bay beaches are excellent for swimming. We want people to be safe when they swim, and they can check both the weekly result, as well as the longer-term overall grade to help them make decisions about where water quality is suitable for swimming," says Anna

"Its best to stay out of the water for 2-3 days following a heavy rain, or if the water is discoloured,” she adds.

Anyone can use their smartphone to check the traffic light and overall grade for their favourite swimming spot by going to hbrc.govt.nz and searching #swim.

The environmental monitoring team, which includes university students working through their holidays, goes out every Monday to monitor more than 30 popular recreational water spots across the region, from November until mid-March, says Team Leader Water Quality and Ecology Vicki Lyon.

“We’re working closely with a national team to feed results to the ‘Can I Swim Here’ tool at LAWA.org.nz/swim, which is also a plug-in on our website. This gives a great picture of weather, water temperature, facilities and how to get to swim spots,” says Vicki.

Launched in December and running until the end of January, ‘Swim Thru Summer’ promotes an online traffic light for water quality at beach and river swim spots. The message will be spread through print, radio, social media, bus-backs, vehicles and swim spot visits.

The monitoring results for all regions are shared on the national LAWA website – which stands for Land Air Water Aotearoa – and is New Zealand's most comprehensive source of natural resource data. The website displays the current state and trend information for New Zealand's rivers and lakes, water use and availability, bathing beaches, air quality and land cover.

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