Regional council scientists are back splashing around in the surf this month as weekly beach monitoring resumes around the country.
Regional councils monitor the bacteria levels of popular swimming beaches weekly during the warmer months.
Beaches were "a key part of many New Zealanders' lifestyles'', Otago Regional Council chairman Stephen Woodhead said.
"And it's important that people can enjoy them with the knowledge that the water is safe,'' he said.
To ensure that is the case, Dunedin maintains strong links with an innovative internet site which updates New Zealanders on environmental conditions, including water quality in rivers and at beaches.
The environmental monitoring website Land, Air, Water Aotearoa (Lawa) is run collaboratively by the country's regional councils and unitary councils, who form Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ).
The Cawthron Institute and the Ministry for the Environment are also part of the collaboration, which is supported by the Tindall Foundation.
Mr Woodhead, who chairs LGNZ's regional sector group, also heads the group that administers the Lawa site.
He said the site was a "world first''of its kind. And parts of it were still under development, with further information being added, he said.
Dunedin testing results are available on www.lawa.org.nz, and the Lawa site includes information on the water quality at more than 350 beaches throughout the country.
Information is also available on the recreational suitability of rivers and lakes which are popular for swimming.
