Water cleaner at popular beaches
The water quality of some of Canterbury's most popular swimming spots is improving, according to Environment Canterbury's annual summer testing.
Corsair Bay and Akaroa's main beach - popular with summer day trippers - are now assessed as safe for swimmers.
Corsair Bay has gone from poor to fair, and Akaroa has improved from fair to good.
The ratings are ECan's annual assessment of where it is safe to splash about and where bathers should keep their mouths firmly closed in the water.
ECan monitors more than 90 coastal and freshwater swimming spots, with students and volunteers sending samples for weekly analysis. Results are updated on Ecan's website regularly.
The coastal and freshwater sites are graded from "very good" -- considered satisfactory for swimming at all times -- to "very poor", where recreational users may find themselves sharing the water with "direct discharges of faecal material".
Among Christchurch beaches, the Avon-Heathcote estuary again rated poorly because of the city's sewage discharge. The health of the estuary's beaches is expected to improve when the ocean outfall pipeline is completed next year.
Sumner beach was rated good.
ECan coastal water quality scientist Lesley Bolton-Ritchie said she was pleased with the improvements of water quality at main swimming spots such as Akaroa and Corsair Bay.
"Corsair Bay is such a popular spot, " she said.
"There was much concern when it wasn't good there because it was such a popular site and people liked to hold events.
"The Christchurch City Council has done a lot of work there and the water is on the up."
ECan water portfolio chairman Cr Mark Oldfield said the water testing made a connection between human activity, the environment and water quality changes.
"Lots of things can affect water quality, including subdivision, or hillside clearing with resultant run-off muddying nearby water, as well as birds living along rivers, which people need to be aware of," Oldfield said.
Signs should indicate areas that have been tested and found unsuitable for swimming.
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