Freshwater

New Zealand’s climate is changing – and so are our freshwaters.

NIWA and Auckland Council freshwater scientists using fish pheromone samplers have made a rare discovery in two Auckland streams.

CHES (Cumulative Hydrological Effects Simulator) software tool predicts how water flows in a catchment will change with multiple water uses (e.g. direct abstractions or storage reservoirs) and what the consequences will be to in-stream ecosystems and reliability of water-take.

NIWA’s Catchment Contaminants Loads Model (C-CALM) is a spatial decision support system for planning applications. It estimates annual contaminant loads at the neighbourhood to stormwater management unit (sub-catchment) scale, from diffuse sources, for Total Suspended Solids (TSS) and particulate and dissolved zinc and copper. The estimated load is then adjusted for water treatment.

Your favourite lake may look picturesque, calm and inviting but beware what lurks beneath – aliens are on the attack.

After two years of groundwork, NIWA scientists have finally unlocked the mystery of the elusive lamprey breeding grounds.

NIWA scientists have secured funding for a project they hope will take them a step closer to discovering why the number of freshwater crayfish, or koura, in the Upper Waikato River has dramatically declined.

NIWA and Meridian are developing a management strategy on LINZ crown owned lakes for pest aquatic plants – weeds, the alga Didymosphenia geminata (Didymo) and filamentous green algae (both native and introduced) - in the Waitaki Catchment.