People heading out to swimming spots across Taranaki this summer are being encouraged to wait a few days after heavy rain before diving in. Taranaki Regional Council’s summer “Can I Swim Here?" monitoring programme starts this week, running through until the end of March 2024. Every Tuesday staff will take water samples at 41 popular swimming spots at lakes, rivers and beaches across the region. Results take two days to come back from the lab, and are posted on the Land, Air, Water Aotearoa
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Taranaki Regional Council
New Plymouth Constituency
Electing 5 Regional Councillors
Bev RAINE
My principal place of residence is in the New
Plymouth Constituency area.
Thank you for electing me to the TRC in 2016.
I am proud to have been involved in the
achievements of this Regional Council which, I
believe, sets standards envied by counterparts
throughout New Zealand.
Excellent relationships with the rural community have enabled
the Council to protect river quality
river beds. As of last week, five of the seven monitored river sites and one lake were unsuitable for swimming (for humans or dogs) due to cyanobacteria (toxic algae). We will continue to monitor these sites until they return to normal, posting the results on LAWA each week. We’ll do a full analysis of the summer’s results, but most of the samples that exceeded guideline levels were taken after heavy or prolonged rain. We know heavy rain washes contaminants off the land into rivers and out to sea.
We had a mostly dry February in Taranaki with average rainfall of 63.5mm – 44% less than usual for the month. Brooklands Zoo at New Plymouth had 78% less rain than normal while Omaru at Charlies (in the Southern Hill Country) had 8% less rain than an average February. The dry trend which started in January continued with year to date rainfall an average 22% less than normal, including 48% less at Pātea at Stratford. Mean river flows for February were 45% of typical values, low flows were 29%
Join the garden detectives for some outdoor fun and connect with nature on our insect-inspired family walk. Rain or shine, pop on your gumboots and explore the Pukeiti forest to see what interesting bugs call Pukeiti home.
December was a slightly drier and warmer month than usual for most of Taranaki with 159.1mm of rainfall – 3% less than usual. There was 3% less rainfall than average, ranging from 60% less rain at Kaupokonui at Glenn Rd to 61% more rain than normal at Waiwhakaiho at Hillsborough. The year's rainfall ranges from 12% less rainfall at Omahine at Moana Trig, and 10% more rainfall at Omaru at Charlies, with an average of 2% less than a normal year. The average air temperature for Taranaki was
November was a slightly wetter and cooler month than usual for most of Taranaki with 143.9mm of rainfall – 3% more than usual. There was 3% more rainfall than average, ranging from 32% less rain at Kaupokonui at Glenn Rd to 39% more rain than normal at Waiwhakaiho at Hillsborough. Year to date rainfall ranges from 11% less rainfall at Pohokura Saddle, and 12% more rainfall at Omaru at Charlies, with an average of 2% less than normal. The average air temperature for Taranaki was 13.5°C, which is
Autumn arrived in Taranaki in March with an average air tempeature of 14.5°C - 1.7°C cooler than normal. The highest temperature was 25.7°C at Inglewood at Oxidation Ponds. There was an average of 95.9mm rainfall – 14% less than usual – although there were some big downpours on te Maunga with 374.5mm at the North Egmont Visitors Centre and 351mm at Dawson Falls. There was 41% less rain at Brooklands Zoo at New Plymouth and 33% more at Kotare at OSullivans. Mean river flows for March were 38.7%
Find out if it's safe to swim at your local river, lake or beach. Recreational water quality Every Tuesday, from 1 November to 31 March, TRC check the water quality at 41 recreational rivers, lakes and beach sites all over Taranaki. Water sampling results take 3 days from the time of testing to publishing on our website. If you plan to swim today, here are some signs to look out for before jumping into the water. Has it rained in the last three days? Rain washes contaminants from land into
January was warmer than usual while rainfall for the month was just slightly above normal – but with some big differences across the region. Waitotara at Ngutuwera had 53% less rain than usual while Uruti at Kaka Rd had 39% more. The average rainfall for the region was 108.4mm, 2% more than usual. The average air temperature for the region (excluding Te Maunga sites) was 18.2°C, which is 0.6°C warmer than long-term January averages. The highest temperature was 30.3°C at Waitotara at Hawken Rd.