Napier's Pandora Pond off limits, again, one day after being cleared

Friday, 23 February 2018

Pictured in 2016, 3-year-old Lucas Brown leaps into Pandora Pond, in Napier. The pond has been repeatedly closed this week.

People are being asked not to swim in Pandora Pond, Napier, just a day after it was declared safe again.

Friday's test results again revealed high levels of bacteria in the pond.

Hawke's Bay District Health Board medical officer of health, Dr Nicholas Jones, said he wanted to keep the swim warning lifted, but it was clear the situation was more complex than previously thought.

'We need to take a precautionary approach because the risk to people's health, with the level of bacteria is too high,' Jones said.

The pond was first declared off limits on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, the levels exceed the maximum values recommended in the Recreational Water Guidelines and indicated excessive amounts of faecal matter, either animal or human in the water.

But on Thursday, Jones said the pond was within acceptable levels.

The guidelines note that risks, at the reported level of 302 enterococci (bacteria) per 100ml, would equate to roughly one in 15 people who swim in the pond getting a gastro illness, and about one in 30 people getting a respiratory infection.

Jones said the district health board wanted to apologise to everyone who had plans at the pond for the weekend.

'The close monitoring and fluctuating levels means we have identified an issue, with the pond, that requires much more thorough investigation.'

They would not agree to lift the warning until the bacteria levels were consistently normal, he said.

Hawke's Bay Regional Council group manager of resource management Iain Maxwell supported Jones' decision.

Maxwell was ensuring council staff continued to investigate the problem to try and determine the cause.

If anyone felt sick after swimming in the pond, they should see a doctor, and mention swimming in the pond.

More information on where to go for medical care can be found at http://ourhealthhb.nz/choose-well/where-should-i-go/, or people can call Healthline on 0800 611 116 for free advice from a trained registered nurse.