Patea River at King Edward Park Scout Den, Stratford
The survey site is situated within King Edward Park in Stratford township, approximately 11 km downstream of the National Park boundary, with several consented treated waste discharges from dairy ponds in the catchment upstream of the site.
Please note that water quality can change depending on weather. Don't swim if the water is murky or smells unpleasant. Taranaki Regional Council advises not to swim within three days of heavy or prolonged rainfall, even at sites that usually have good water quality.
Recreational bathing surveys over the last two summers showed that 62% (2017-2018) and 77% (2018-2019) of samples met the freshwater microbiological water quality guidelines prepared by the Ministry of Environment in conjunction with the Ministry of Health (MfE, 2003) and did not exceed the ‘Action’ level (>550 E.coli cfu/100mls).
The State of the Environment technical report showing the freshwater recreational monitoring results for 2018-2019 is available at https://www.trc.govt.nz/environmental-monitoring-technical-reports/
Please note that the Taranaki Regional Council calculates the Overall Bacteria Risk (risk of bacterial infection from swimming) for each site based on the test results of bacteria samples collected during routine sampling events. The test results of follow up samples are not included in the assessment of risk by the regional council.
