Environment Canterbury undertook faecal source testing earlier this year in many of the bays and waterways in Lyttelton Bays/Whakaraupō and Akaroa to help determine what type of faecal pollution is entering these bodies of water after rainfall.

Environment Canterbury surface water science manager Dr. Elaine Moriarty said the results show that there is faecal contamination from human and other sources (bird, dogs and livestock) in a number of the bays after rainfall events.

“Christchurch City Council is now leading an investigation into how these contaminants are entering waterways in the area. The investigation is complex as every public and private connection poses a potential contamination source, so investigations will take some time,” she said.

Elaine said planning is underway to enhance our annual Can I Swim Here campaign (

www.ecan.govt.nz/your-region/your-environment/water/swimming-water-quality

), with the hopes the public can better understand the grading system and the risks surrounding swimming after rainfall.

“We have increased our monitoring efforts with extra testing done over the winter period. This is part of our project to move towards a live modelling monitoring system which would allow us to make continuous predictions of water quality for recreation.

“In many bays water quality fluctuates, especially after rainfall. When live modelling is launched, swimmers will be able to find out if a bay is safe for swimming on any specific day. This is still some time away, but we hope to have it live in future summers,” Elaine said.

“We are working with Christchurch City Council, Te Whatu Ora and local iwi to share information and assist with further testing where required. Public health is a top priority for all three agencies as we work together to improve water quality in Banks Peninsula,” she added.

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