Nicki Harper: Toxic threat sidelines river swim

Nicki Harper.

With much sympathy for farmers battling with increasingly dry conditions, there's no escaping the fact that summer in Hawke's Bay is hard to beat.

Thanks to our dry, warm climate, swimming and other water activities feature heavily with our family and it was no different this year.

The outdoor pool down the road is always a regular fixture, and there's at least one visit to Splash Planet each year.

My most anticipated swim of summer is the ocean swim and this year I took the family to Kairakau Beach.

We are lucky in Hawke's Bay to have lots of safe beaches for all the family to swim at: there's nothing like the after-effects of an icy, crisp, salty sea day out at the beach to make you feel you are truly alive.

What we didn't do this year for the first time in the 12 years I have lived here is go for our river dip.

Living near both the Waipawa and Tukituki rivers, among our family and friends a lot of time is spent at the river, whether swimming or fishing, picnicking or walking the dogs.

Granted there is not much accessible swimming water in the rivers this year, and that's part of the natural cycle, exacerbated by increasingly low rainfall.

Usually, though, there is always somewhere you feel comfortable to cool down - yes, you might have to walk over some slippery, algae-covered rocks, but that just makes it more challenging.

This year, my approach to the river changed.

I found myself assessing the water for swimmability with a critical eye, wondering what potentially unhealthy nasties lurked within.

Even in our usual spots, we didn't let the dogs run off out of the car when we got there in case they ate some toxic algae that hadn't yet been detected by the authorities.

I understand that human activity generates waste and pollution, whether it be urban wastewater systems, or farming, or other industrial activity near a river.

And I understand that monitoring and mitigation measures are being taken, although some may say such activity shouldn't be happening in such locations in the first place.

And, yes, the lovely warm, dry climate that we enjoy every summer is becoming warmer and drier and playing havoc on our environment.

I gave up any feeling of safety to drink from a river years ago, but I'm having trouble accepting that I should probably check a website to get the most up-to-the-moment data on whether my river destination is swimmable, rather than making my own call.

I feel sad that what was once an unthinking, bread-and-butter Kiwi summer tradition, whether lying back in some swiftly moving shallows, jumping into a deep hole or tubing, is now not an option due either to lack of water, or debatable due to the health risk.

- Nicki Harper is a senior reporter for Hawke's Bay Today.

- Linda Hall's column will return next week.