Pandora Pond warning lifted after contamination

The Pandora Splash Zone was closed earlier this week due to water contamination. PHOTO/WARREN BUCKLAND.

The warning over Napier's Pandora Pond has been lifted after a contamination earlier this week - the third water quality issue in this area in less than a year.

Yesterday the Hawke's Bay's District Health Board announced high levels of bacteria had been found in water samples, with indications of excessive amounts of faecal matter, either animal or human, in the water.

Users of the popular swimming spot were advised to stay away until test results were received, with activities in contaminated water posing a risk of infections of the stomach, skin, eyes and ears.

The warning was lifted yesterday after two water sample tests came back clear.

Hawke's Bay District Health Board Medical Officer of Health Dr Nicholas Jones said based on these results, the risk of swimming in the pond was now within the safe swimming guideline's acceptable levels.

However, authorities would continue to closely monitor and investigate possible sources.

"We note that large numbers of birds can be present from time-to-time in the pond and risk may be elevated at these times."

Hawke's Bay Regional Council Group Manager Resource Management Iain Maxwell said the high result was either an anomaly or a one-off event but staff would continue investigations to try and determine the cause.

The irregular levels had been 475 Enterococci cfu/100ml - more than the safe swimming guideline of 280.

The Napier City Council had been notifying organisers planning upcoming events at Pandora Pond. A portion of the Tremains Triathlon will be held there on March 11.

Canoe Polo Hawke's Bay, who were hosting a tournament there this weekend, had been looking for a ""plan B" location, chair Kelly Hepburn said.

"Logistically it will be a lot easier to stay there, but at the end of the day our players health comes first so we will move if we have to.

"We don't want to be in a position where we're putting our players at risk of any health problem."

With 55 teams, an estimated 385 players, and around 1000 people expected to converge at the pond over the weekend, she said it was set to be "the biggest tournament New Zealand's ever seen".

This is the third time this area has been plagued with water quality issues over the past year.

In September at least ten people contracted paratyphoid, believed to have been caused by eating shellfish from the Napier Marina which had been contaminated by faecal matter.

In April, heavy rainfall brought by Cyclone Debbie overwhelmed Napier's sewerage system, leading the Napier City Council to discharge 2.5 million litres of wastewater into the Ahuriri Estuary to keep streets safe from overflow.

Hawke's Bay Regional Council chair Rex Graham said it was "very disappointing" this continued to happen.

"We have to tidy things up. These things happen over a long period of time and it's not going to be cheap to do it, it'll cost but it's worth it."

Napier Mayor Bill Dalton said "it's clear that we don't want contaminated water in our district and we're going to do everything we can to make it right.

"There's a lot we can do, and there's a lot we will do".

He pointed to the council's Ahuriri Master Plan which sets out a number of prospective actions for the estuarine environment. This will be consulted on through the Long Term Plan 2018-2028 process in April.

HBRC will continue with daily samples until Monday to find out if it was a one-off event.