By NADINE KELLY Waiariki journalism student
What was meant to be a fun day playing in the Utuhina Stream 30 years ago ended up paralysing an 18-year-old.
Now youngsters are swimming in an area close by and John Waiariki is worried they could meet the same fate as his brother Ernest.
Mr Waiariki said that 30 years ago his brother broke his neck when he dived into a swimming hole in the Utuhina Stream.
"There was a deep hole just off the reserve at the back of Bellingham [Cres] and we all used to swim there. It was up to our necks back then.
"We had always gone down there and this one day after my brother dived in we ended up pulling him out and he had broken his neck."
He said his brother lived the rest of his life in a wheelchair. He died years ago.
Now Mr Waiariki is concerned that children in the Fordlands area are swimming in shallow water further up the Utuhina Stream.
Kaa Rikihana, a Meadowbank Cres resident, said she had seen children jumping off the bridge and running across the road and feared they could be seriously hurt.
"It's not even that deep down there but it keeps them happy because there isn't anything for them to do here in the [Ford] Block.
"You see them running back and forth from either side of the road and one day they're gonna get hit by a car," Ms Rikihana said.
Another resident, Laurie Watt, said she had seen the youngsters playing in the water every day and did not think the stream was clean to swim in.
"I don't send my kids down and I think it's unhygienic."
Other residents and motorists feared the children could be hurt jumping into the shallow stream and crossing the nearby road.
Inspector Steve Bullock of the Rotorua police said no complaints had been received about children swimming in the Utuhina Stream or crossing the road to and from it.
"There is always a risk with these swimming holes and young people have difficulty judging the speed of cars,"
Environment Bay of Plenty freshwater scientist Matt Bloxham said the stream had been inspected at the beginning of the month and marked orange for caution.
"The stream does have a poor history performance. I'm not sure why or how the contaminants get into the stream, but it does run past some industrial areas."
He said there were three tiers of safety when streams and rivers were tested: safe to swim, caution and unsafe to swim.
The Utuhina Stream is in the caution zone and more testing will be done.
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
Latest from Rotorua Daily Post
Theft of artificial turf angers cricket boss: 'if this is just for s****s and giggles'
It happened four times last year and now it's happened again.