Wainuiomata River Swim-Spot Unsafe

Hutt City Council, Greater Wellington Regional Council and Regional Public Health urge people to stay clear of the Wainuiomata River at Richard Prouse Park.

Regular water quality monitoring undertaken at the site has shown that counts of the indicator bacteria E. coli exceeded the national guideline for safe swimming on a number of occasions during the last month.

Health warning signs have been in place at the site since early March. Contact with this water could result in illnesses such as tummy upsets (diarrhoea and vomiting), and infections of skin, eyes, ear, nose or throat.

Hutt City Council’s Manager for Environmental Inspections, John Pepper says,
“Additional specialist testing undertaken by Greater Wellington Regional Council indicates that the Wainuiomata Stream which drains the Moores Valley area is likely to be the main source of contamination at the swimming hole at Richard Prouse Park. The tests have shown that the pollution is a mixture of both human and animal faeces.”

“We are working with Greater Wellington Regional Council to investigate sources of the contamination in the Moores Valley area including septic tank discharges and stock access to streams. In the meantime, we advise people wanting to swim in the area to go further upstream to the swimming holes in the Wainuiomata Recreation Area. We will provide further information to the public regarding water quality and safety of swimming at this site.”

ENDS

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