Thousands of Auckland children are becoming more confident in the water, thanks to a city-wide project teaching them how to swim.

A grieving mother is pleading with parents never to leave their young children alone in water after her infant son drowned in a bath.

This summer, water safety messages will be seen on 600,000 tray mats in KFC restaurants around the country.

The surf lifesaving season kicked off without any serious incidents at Hot Water Beach, but lifeguards there fear that won't last long.

Media personality Duncan Garner is swapping his blazer for a lifejacket this summer - and is calling on boaties to remember theirs too.

A Bluff woman has been named New Zealand's champion of water safety.

A push to make wearing lifejackets compulsory on the Waitemata Harbour to save lives is expected to be strongly opposed by boaties.

United Future and the Maori Party have teamed up to block the Government’s major reforms of the Resource Management Act.

The risk of emergency overflows of sewage into the Manukau Harbour for a further 50 years is being highlighted by community groups.

A law change to limit how long companies can discharge pollution into New Zealand's waterways has been shot down by a parliamentary select committee.

A Papakaio family on board a boat that sank on Lake Benmore on Sunday, have been praised for their safety precautions and keeping calm during the ordeal.

Concerns about the safety of the high-tech America's Cup catamarans have increased after a training accident yesterday involving Swedish team Artemis that killed British sailor Andrew Simpson.

Three separate rescues around the country have kept emergency services busy today and prompted a warning for people to be more prepared.

An Auckland man who gave CPR to a toddler found face down in a hot pool has played down his actions.

The three young men caught in a "strong unforgiving rip" on Auckland's notorious Piha Beach were wearing jeans and totally unaware of the danger they were in.

They reckon everyone’s looking at us because they think we’re cops. I’m not so sure. I think it’s more that we’re the only boat on the gulf without a fishing rod.

When a scared child sought help for a man drowning at Omanu Beach, teens Josh Jarvis and Fletcher Swan called on all their lifesaving skills to haul the man to safety.

A water safety watchdog has questioned the value of a pool alarm system being stocked at New Zealand supermarkets.

Lifejackets saved the lives of boaties in two water emergencies as people took to the lakes and seas this weekend.

Searchers will spend the next two days scouring the shoreline near Bowentown after a man went missing when his boat capsized off the Bay of Plenty coast.