Living in Northland

Introduction

Councils across New Zealand use the same system – the Suitability for Recreation Grade (SFRG) - to describe the general water quality at places used for things like swimming, fishing, boating and water skiing (contact recreation).

How is the water quality measured?

The Suitability for Recreation Grade tells you whether a site is generally safe to use, health-wise, for activities where you will come into contact with the water.

The grade is calculated by combining the Microbiological Assessment Category (MAC) – a review of the water quality data available for a site – and the Sanitary Inspection Category (SIC) – a review of potential and actual sources of contamination at a site.

How reliable are the grades?

Although the SFRG can give an indication of a site’s general suitability for swimming, it can be misleading. For example, if we have a big storm or storms during the 12 weeks that we do the sampling, runoff from this can contaminate a site for a short period and skew overall results.

What do the grades mean?

There are five grades, ranging from Very Good to Very Poor.

 SFRG = Very Good
Without any significant sources of faecal contamination, a site with a “Very Good” SFRG may be considered suitable for contact recreation at all times.  A site with a “Very Good” SFRG may not require regular sampling in the future.

 SFRG = Good
While water quality is generally good at a “Good” site, potential sources of faecal contamination, such as indirect agricultural run-off or non-sewage stormwater, can make the site unsuitable for contact recreation during and after periods of significant rainfall.  Regular monitoring of such sites is necessary.

 SFRG = Fair
At sites with a “Fair” grade, water is usually suitable for contact recreation but sources of contamination, such as direct discharges from low-intensity agriculture and stormwater drains or indirect discharges from intensive agriculture, may mean that these sites are unsuitable for swimming during or immediately after heavy rainfall.  Ministry for Environment (MfE) recommends that such sites should be monitored weekly during popular times of the year.

 SFRG = Poor
The water at sites with a “Poor” grade tends to breach alert guidelines on a regular basis.  Direct discharges from intensive agriculture or tertiary treated sewage, or indirect discharges from leaking septic tanks and other untreated wastes, mean that these sites are generally unsuitable for swimming.  Because of the nature of contamination, this grading stands even during dry periods and territorial authorities may choose to erect permanent warning signs, especially if weekly sampling is discontinued at such sites.

 SFRG = Very Poor
Sites that receive a grade of “Very Poor” should not be used for recreational activities.  Direct discharges of faecal material from sources such as leaking septic tanks or untreated wastewater mean that local authorities should erect permanent warning signs at such sites, advising that the water is categorically unsuitable for use.

N/A = lack of data (5 years required)

How we stack up in Northland

Below, are the current grades for sites in Northland.  Site grades are revised every year, to incorporate new data collected over this time and changes in land-use.  All sites were re-graded in 2012. At some sites we haven’t collected data for more than five consecutive years (which is a Ministry for Environment requirement) so these are annotated N/A. 

Coastal sites

 View a map of results for the coast (143 KB) 

Freshwater sites

 View a map of results for freshwater (106 KB)