Ōhau at Kirkcaldies Reserve
Kirkcaldies Reserve is a recreational reserve managed by Horowhenua District Council. Water quality is generally good, however, rainfall events can cause runoff from farmland upstream and cause short term drops in water quality. As such it is recommended to avoid contact recreation during and immediately after rainfall events until the water is clear.
This beach grading is an interim grading based on two years (50 data points) of monitoring at this swimming spot site. There is a strong relationship between recent rain and elevated E. coli concentrations. This means swimmer health-risk can be reliably predicted. There are no known point source discharges directly affecting the site. The Ohau River arises in the Tararua Ranges and flows through farmlamd upstream of this swimming spot. Non-point source runoff and stock access to waterways is the most likely impact on water quality.
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.