Freshwater management tools

These guidelines outline a recommended minimum set of methods for a community group interested in following habitat changes in an estuary.

These guides are designed for rapid identification of freshwater flora and fauna for use in biomonitoring.

Over the past decade, NIWA has published many popular articles that deal with estuaries - this overview is intended to bring together and make whole sense of the information published to date in the various popular articles.

NIWA research has established turbidity limits to protect fish in New Zealand rivers.

Tools and software to assist with determining and managing environmental water flows.

NIWA's publication "Freshwater Fish Spawning and Migration Periods" is designed to help people working near freshwater to minimise effects of their work on freshwater fish species.

Approximately 500 Aquatic invertebrate taxa are described in this database, made available to assist with the identification of specimens.

Bottom lining is the installation of a flexible covering over the top of beds of aquatic weeds, similar to using weed matting in home gardens. The lining is held in place by weights (e.g., rocks or sandbags) or by pinning. This control method is also called ‘benthic barriers’.

The Check Clean Dry Campaign aims to stop the spread of freshwater pests by encouraging people going through more than one waterway to check, clean and dry their gear in between.

Water quality in urban streams and stormwater systems is frequently poor and highly variable, across both space and time. Traditional monthly grab sampling is rarely adequate to characterise contaminant concentrations during wet weather events.

Diquat is a herbicide (chemical) that has been used in New Zealand for many decades for submerged (underwater) weed control and also on agricultural crops. It is registered for freshwater use in New Zealand.