Hawke's Bay stream off-limits after E. coli, faeces found

  • 17/12/2016
E coli in a petri dish (Getty)
Health officers aren't sure who to blame for contaminating Puhokio Stream (Getty)

A Hawke's Bay stream has been deemed off-limits after testing positive for excessive amounts E. coli and faeces.

Health officers aren't sure who to blame for contaminating Puhokio Stream, south of Napier and Hastings.

Nicholas Jones of the Hawke's Bay DHB says regional farming could be at fault.

"There could be animal sources, there could be wild birds," he told Newshub.

Dr Jones says there are plenty of septic tanks nearby too, so no possibilities had been ruled out. Whatever the cause, the message to locals is to stay out of the water.

"There's a risk you'll get something like a tummy bug, or you can get skin and eye problems."

He assured the problem was incomparable to the region's gastro outbreak in August, when drinking water was contaminated.

In better news, the region's beaches have been deemed safe - so if you must swi,, go there instead.

Newshub.