Rivers

Latest news

Scientists are seeing more toxic algae in our lakes and rivers compared to previous years, says NIWA. 
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.
Nearly half of New Zealand’s river network is partially or fully inaccessible to migratory fish, a new study shows.

Latest videos

Hydrology in the Waipori Gorge, Dunedin

For over 100 years Trustpower's Waipori power scheme has supplied Dunedin with hydroelectric power. Our field hydrology team visit the site every three months to take essential measurements of the river flow. We headed out with NIWA environmental technician Elliot Bowie to learn more...

The world's most mysterious fish

A video about The world's most mysterious fish. NIWA researchers are working with iwi to try to unlock the secrets of New Zealand tuna—freshwater eels. Every year tiny, glass eels wash in on the tide at river mouths along our coast. But where do they come from and how do they get there?

 

Overview of SHMAK

How healthy is your stream? SHMAK—the New Zealand Stream Health Monitoring and Assessment Kit—has been designed to help you find out. It also allows stream health to be tracked over time, so you can recognise if stream health is getting better, worse or staying the same.

A day out measuring at Molesworth

A day out measuring at Molesworth

Currently there are gaps in understanding of user decision making processes and public needs and requirements for river forecasting in New Zealand. This project aims to bridge NIWA river forecasting aspirations and capabilities with both the public and decision makers’ requirements.

Freshwater Update 79 brings you the latest information from our Freshwater & Estuaries Centre, with articles ranging from NIWA working with NASA; restoring a stream catchment in Kaikōura; looking after urban water; keeping soil and reducing sedimentation; to culling catfish.

‘Swimmability’ of New Zealand rivers

Swimming is a popular activity in Aotearoa-New Zealand. Two attributes of waters that strongly affect aesthetic quality and safety for swimming are visual clarity and faecal contamination. It turns out that these two attributes are fairly well-correlated (inversely) in New Zealand rivers, such that (easily seen) visual clarity provides a rough-but-useful guide to (unseen) microbial quality.

Freshwater Update 78 brings you the latest information from our Freshwater & Estuaries Centre, with articles that cross a broad spectrum of freshwater research, from archives to aquifers, periphyton guidance, geo-engineering and swimmability.

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.
On the bottom of New Zealand’s largest freshwater springs is an underwater garden of vivid green, pinks and inky blues.
Freshwater Update 76 brings you the latest information from our Freshwater & Estuaries Centre, with articles ranging from spring and river water condition to urban waters, didymo and aquatic plant scientists.
As the road behind Hanmer Springs turns to gravel and a dust cloud forms in the rear vision mirror, the southern edge of Molesworth Station unfolds.
A day out measuring at Molesworth

A day out measuring at Molesworth

NIWA is undertaking a five-year nationwide study to find out how different approaches to riparian planting influence water quality improvements and to provide better guidance to the people and groups undertaking stream restoration.
Returning water to our waterways after we’ve used it in our homes, on farms and in industry is a complex and challenging process.
NIWA's Freshwater and Estuaries Chief Scientist Dr John Quinn believes the dairy industry has been responsive in the tools it has adopted to reduce its impact on waterways.
River floods occur when water spills from a river channel onto land that is normally dry, and are one of New Zealand's costliest natural hazards.
To prepare for changes in climate, our freshwater and oceans decision-makers need information on species vulnerability to climate change.
We have prepared a breakdown of the different guidelines that are available for sampling freshwater fisheries. The overview provides links to key documents that explain what should be considered when designing fish monitoring studies and how to implement the various sampling techniques.
NIWA discusses, in depth, this year's most asked question—what is happening to our fresh waterways?

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All staff working on this subject

Hydro-ecological Modeller
Freshwater Fish Ecologist
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Riparian and Wetland Scientist
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River Geomorphologist
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Land and Water Scientist
Regional Manager - Christchurch
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Remote Sensing Scientist
Surface Water - Groundwater Modeller
Coastal and Estuarine Physical Processes Scientist
Principal Scientist - Natural Hazards and Hydrodynamics
Principal Scientist - Aquatic Pollution
Hydrology Scientist
Hydrodynamics Scientist
Regional Manager - Auckland
Algal Ecologist
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