No.19 2006

NIWA is helping the Greater Wellington Regional Council with tools to manage the current and future water supply for the Wellington urban area, made up of Porirua, Hutt, Upper Hutt, and Wellington Cities.

Dr Stephanie Parkyn is NIWA's Envirolink coordinator.
For the smaller regional councils and unitary authorities, getting environmental science advice that meets their needs has always been difficult; largely due to budget constraints. A new Government funding initiative administered by the Foundation for Research, Science & Technology has successfully overcome this difficulty.
The Envirolink Fund started on 1 December and enables public good science providers to advise smaller councils on practical issues arising from research.

Water resources outlook (October - December)
The following soil moisture levels & river flows are likely:
Northern North Island: normal or below normal soil moisture; below normal river flows
Southwest North Island: normal or below normal
Southwest North Island & Northern South Island: normal soil moisture; normal or below normal river flows
Eastern South Island: below normal
Southwest South Island: above normal

Pond treatment textbook shows NZ expertise
An International Waste Association textbook on wastewater pond treatment technology is showcasing New Zealand expertise in this field. It is now set to be incorporated into the New Zealand oxidation pond guidelines (NZWWA and MfE).
Pond Treatment Technology is edited by Andy Shilton of the Centre for Environmental Technology and Engineering at Massey University, and NIWA scientists are major contributors to the book.

Water resources review (July - September)
River flows
Very low river flows occurred in the north of both islands, including some record lows for this time of year in parts of Northland, Nelson, and Marlborough.

The trick is getting what you really need
Dr Mike Scarsbrook is the new leader of the National Centre for Water Resources.
Dr Mike Scarsbrook has taken over from Jim Cooke at the helm of the National Centre for Water Resources. We wish Jim well in his new job with Beca in Wellington.
Mike Scarsbrook specialises in groundwater and stream invertebrate ecology, and state of the environment monitoring and reporting. For instance, he is currently working with Environment Southland and the West Coast Regional Council on the design of their state of the environment monitoring networks.

Workshop report released
Dr Morgan Williams, Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, presenting the keynote address to the workshop.
The coast is a place where many interests overlap and sometimes collide. These include coastal subdivision, intensified agriculture, marine farming, and marine protected areas.