Popular Loch Laird below the Benmore dam is again suitable for swimming and water-skiing after being closed last weekend.
Water testing by the Waitaki District Council over the past week showed the high (Escherichia coli) bacterial count had diminished to a safe level for swimming.
The E. coli level in Loch Laird exceeded the limits for safe swimming after water levels rose when Meridian Energy Ltd was spilling from the Benmore dam on January 19 to 21, prompting the council to erect warning signs against swimming.
The high water level washed contamination from the surrounding shoreline.
The council's rural parks officer, Jane Matchett, yesterday said signs were now being removed after "a blip" in E. coli levels due to raised water levels.
