Toxic algae warning at Otaki River mouth

Following the death of a dog this week, Greater Wellington Regional Council are warning river users with dogs to avoid the Otaki river mouth and estuary.

The exact cause of the dog death is still being investigated but poisoning from toxic algae is suspected.

“We’ve been in contact with the dog owner to express our concern over this incident and have visited the site today to sample the algae present”, says Regional Council Senior Environmental Scientist Summer Greenfield. “There was a small amount of the toxic algae that grow as black or brown mats at the site but not an amount that would normally trigger a warning. We are currently having samples tested for other types of toxic algae.

We’ve expressed our sympathy to the family at the loss of their family pet and we’ll continue to monitor this river. If anything changes we will update information on the summer check website” says Summer.

“Our weekly monitoring further upstream at the State Highway One Bridge shows levels of toxic algae are within safe levels in this part of the river.

“We advise people to find out what toxic algae looks like at www.gw.govt.nz/toxic-algae-faqs and to avoid it if they come across it while swimming. We also recommend people keep their dogs on a lead if they are concerned about coming into contact with toxic algae” says Summer.

If ingested the algae can kill livestock and dogs and contact can cause vomiting, diarrhoea and skin irritations in humans.

Monitoring of Wellington waterways and coastal areas is carried out by Greater Wellington Regional Council and local authorities on a weekly basis over the summer months. Results of the monitoring and latest warnings are posted at www.gw.govt.nz/summer-check.

Other information about toxic algae, including a guide of what to look for and what to do if you are worried about possible contact with toxic algae can be found at www.gw.govt.nz/toxic-algae-faqs .

ENDS

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