The Otago Regional Council says the majority of waterways in Otago are suitable for swimming, from a public health standpoint.
“Otago's lakes, rivers and beaches are highly valued for their recreational opportunities and that's top on mind for ORC when it comes to managing water quality,“ ORC chairman Stephen Woodhead said.
Mr Woodhead was responding to a Government announcement of a target of 90 percent of New Zealand’s lakes and rivers meeting swimmable water quality standards by 2040.
The announcement was accompanied by the release of new policy, regulations, information maps, and funding to help achieve this goal.
The swimmability maps released today reflected that ''the vast majority'' of Otago’s waterways were suitable for swimming, Mr Woodhead said.
However, he said it was important to note that the maps were based on modelled data and only showed water quality at a moment in time.
He said the ORC encouraged people to go to the Land, Air, Water Aotearoa website (www.lawa.org.nz) for more accurate and up-to-date information.
