Although it is outside of the regular summer monitoring season, toxic algae has been observed at the Waikanae River at Old SH1.
The coverage is significant, and toxic algae poses a serious health risk to people and can kill dogs. We advise people and their dogs avoid coming in to contact with the river water at this site.
Please note that swimming spots are not being monitored as regularly as they are in summer, so we encourage you to be familiar with what toxic algae looks like so you can avoid it.
To remind yourself what toxic algae looks like see https://www.lawa.org.nz/learn/factsheets/potentially-toxic-algae/ or https://www.gw.govt.nz/environment/freshwater/swimming-water-quality/toxic-algae/