Waingawa River at Kaituna
This site is located at the end of Upper Waingawa Road west of Masterton. It is a popular swimming spot due to the deep pools found there. The Waingawa River flows from the Taraua Ranges and south of Masterton before meeting the Ruamāhanga River to the south of Masterton.
This site is monitored as a part of Greater Wellington Regional Council’s Recreational Water Quality Programme, which is specifically designed to inform the public about the suitability of various sites across the region for swimming and other recreational activities.
The safety of water for swimming is determined by measuring ‘faecal indicator bacteria’ (E. coli) which indicates the likely levels of pathogens in the water. Monitoring is conducted on a weekly basis over the summer months (December to March).
It is generally safe to swim at this site during dry weather. However the site is known to be affected by faecal contamination from rural and urban run-off following heavy or prolonged rainfall. We therefore advise people not to swim for at least two days after heavy rain.
For the latest water quality information, please go to the Greater Wellington Regional Council website, or check out the latest recreational water quality reports.
Some sites have telemetry monitoring systems in place that can provide up to the minute data. At this site the following live data measurements are available. Click on the data type for more information.
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