The Land, Air, Water Aotearoa (LAWA) project echoes the official message to keep out of the water during Alert Level 4.
Volunteers have to break isolation to help people who get into trouble while swimming, surfing, kayaking, boating, fishing, or doing any other water-based activity. That puts both the rescuers and the rescued at risk. Walking, running, and biking is permitted during Alert Level 4 providing you stay close to home and at least two meters away from other people at all times.
Regional councils and unitary authorities have now wrapped up their summer recreational water quality monitoring programmes as they focus on solely delivering essential services. During the off season, LAWA will show historical recreational water quality results and overall bacterial grades for swim spots across New Zealand. Predicted water quality risk results will continue to be updated each day for swim sites in Auckland and Wellington. The availability of this information is not to promote water-based recreation at this time, but to allow open data access in line with the purpose of the LAWA project.
Principal Water Quality Scientist and LAWA ‘Can I swim here?' Topic Lead Anna Madarasz-Smith said we had a warm summer with people enjoying New Zealand’s rivers, lakes, and beaches. “Over summer, more than 120,000 people used the LAWA website. We also shared the water quality data collected by regional councils and unitary authorities with an international audience thanks to our affiliation with Swim Guide.
“Everyone should follow the official advice from Unite Against COVID-19. If we rally now, it’s more likely that next swim season we’ll be back enjoying the water together again,” said Ms Madarasz-Smith.
For official information go to www.covid19.govt.nz.