Freshwater

We provide public information on river, lake, and groundwater conditions across New Zealand including freshwater quantity and quality.

  • Reducing sedimentation

    Feature story
    New Zealand is a land of erosion. We’re losing about 192 million tonnes of soil a year, according to the latest report Our Land 2018, from the Ministry for the Environment and Statistics NZ.
  • Migratory fish get helping hand

    Feature story
    Humans don't always make it easy on fish to get where they are going. New Zealand's first national set of Fish Passage Guidelines – co-developed by NIWA - is expected to help.
  • Community project inspires scientists

    Media release
    A project to restore a stream catchment in Kaikōura—damaged in the 2016 earthquake—is being described as inspirational by NIWA scientists.
  • From small beginnings a valuable collection grows

    Media release
    Cathy Kilroy is quick to admit she’s a person who doesn’t like throwing anything away.
  • Water sensitive urban design: a concrete case

    Feature story
    The hard concrete surfaces that characterise New Zealand towns and cities are barely likely to register as a problem with most people. But they're never far from the minds of our urban water researchers.
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    Overview of environmental flow tools

    Methods/tools that can be used to assess ecological flow requirements in rivers with varying degrees of hydrological alteration and instream values.
  • New Zealand River Maps

    NZ River Maps is a simple, yet flexible, web-based tool that allows users to map and interrogate estimates for over 100 freshwater variables for the entire national river network.
  • Environmental Flows Strategic Allocation Platform (EFSAP)

    EFSAP is a water planning and management tool designed to assist with setting regional or large-scale water resource use limits for rivers.
  • Underwater footage shows exceptional clarity of Te Waikoropupū Springs

    Media release
    On the bottom of New Zealand’s largest freshwater springs is an underwater garden of vivid green, pinks and inky blues.
  • Waikoropupu Springs video

    NIWA freshwater scientists have completed monitoring the ultra-clear water of the Te Waikoropupū Springs near Takaka.
  • Water sensitive Urban Design 26 April 2018

  • Water count

    Feature story
    Ruth Beran discovers that public interest in the state of fresh waterways has driven a dramatic change in the tools used by scientists.