Swim safely in Kāpiti this summer

Published 21 Dec 2020

Heading off to the river or beach this Christmas break and want to know if the water quality stacks up for swimming or recreation?

Kāpiti Coast’s beaches and rivers are generally safe for swimming and other water-based recreational activities, but it always pays to keep up to date on our recreational water quality.

The Council regularly monitors beaches and rivers in partnership with Greater Wellington Regional Council (GW). Water quality results are updated daily on GW’s interactive LAWA map – this is the best way to check if the water quality at your favourite spot is safe for swimming.

At the moment most sites are suitable for swimming in our district, but water quality can change quickly following heavy rain or high temperatures.

Advice for swimmers

wait two days after rain before you swim again - heavy rain flushes contaminants from urban and rural land into our waterways and we strongly advise you not to swim for at least two days (48hrs) after heavy or prolonged rainfall – even if a site generally has good water quality
if you do chose to go against this advice and swim at the beach after rain, avoid putting your head under and supervise toddlers to ensure they do not swallow water
be aware of the increased risk, particularly for vulnerable groups
check the interactive map at lawa.org.nz/swim for warnings before you head out
avoid swimming in streams - as a general rule of thumb, we don’t recommend swimming in streams or where streams and rivers come out at the beach, especially during hot summer months
signage will only go up if a red/action trigger level is reached – if test results show that the water quality has reached ‘red/action’ trigger level, then the water poses an unacceptable health risk from swimming.

For more information about where and what we monitor for, and detailed recreational water info, visit: www.kapiticoast.govt.nz/services/a-z-council-services-and-facilities/recreational-water-quality/