A man has died this afternoon following a water incident in Te Puia Springs in Kawhia. 

Emergency services were alerted to the incident in the Waikato town at 1.50pm. 

"Unfortunately, the man was deceased prior to being pulled from the water," police said in a statement. 

The death will be referred to the Coroner. 

It has been a terrible summer so far for water-related deaths across New Zealand. 

As of January 5, 25 people had drowned since the beginning of December — equal to the total for all of last year's 2020/21 summer, with nearly two months to go. 

In recent weeks there have also been several deaths. 

Last Saturday, a snorkeller died after a water incident in the Coromandel. 

Water Safety NZ chief executive Daniel Gerrard said the level of drowning was "unprecedented" and described it as "horrendous". 

"I'm at a loss on what to say," he told the Herald.