Rivers

Find out more about the MBIE project

Specialists in the chemical analysis of rivers, lakes, oceans and streams

Deep beneath Waitomo’s rolling hills lies a maze of caves and underground rivers. Here, NIWA researchers braved the dark waters to measure the current and hunt for fishy invaders under the twinkle of the cave’s magical glowworms.

River flows in New Zealand have changed dramatically over the past 50 to 90 years as the climate has varied, a new study has found.

As the concerns over water resources and the environment increase, the importance of combined water management, which acknowledges the integrated nature of groundwater and surface water, and manages them as a single resource, is critical to sustain both human society and aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.

Nearly half of New Zealand’s river network is partially or fully inaccessible to migratory fish, a new study shows.

This guide discusses design principles and provides high-level information about the likely performance of riparian buffers.

Estuaries are coastal waterbodies where freshwater mixes with seawater. Many estuaries in Aotearoa New Zealand have been impacted by pollutants and contaminants entering via freshwater.

New Zealand has just over 50 native freshwater fish species. Of these, 85 % are endemic and 75 % are deemed to be at risk of decline or are threatened.

NIWA is asking people in flood-affected areas to contribute photos to a national database to support understanding of flood hazard and flood risk.

Protection of the Awa Models enable us to predict how different uses of the land and water will impact river and stream health.

Report: Trends analysis for selected indicators of Waikato River health and wellbeing 2010-2019