Water Quality

Latest news

Environment report a clear picture of change: NIWA

18 April 2019

The latest state of the environment report released today provides New Zealanders with clear evidence that our climate, freshwater and marine systems are changing, says NIWA.

Scientist collects rubbish to rid rivers of plastics

Feature story

16 January 2019

It may be rubbish to everyone else, but to Amanda Valois each little scrap of plastic on a river bank or in a waterway tells a valuable story.

Reducing sedimentation

Feature story

15 October 2018

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.

Community project inspires scientists

Media Release

6 August 2018

A project to restore a stream catchment in Kaikōura—damaged in the 2016 earthquake—is being described as inspirational by NIWA scientists.

Our work

Ngā Kete o te Wānanga: Mātauranga, Science and Freshwater Management

New Zealand’s freshwater and estuarine resources provide significant cultural, economic, social, and environmental benefits. Competition for the use of these resources is intensifying, and many rivers, lakes and estuaries are now degraded. Māori are particularly sensitive to the use and development of freshwater, and hold distinct perspectives concerning their identity, knowledge, and custodial obligations to manage tribal waters.

National riparian restoration database project

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.

Estuarine water quality: the CLUES estuary tool

Many of New Zealand's rivers fail to meet national guidelines for nutrient levels. NIWA has developed the Catchment Land Use & Environmental Sustainability (CLUES) estuary tool to predict the effects of land use on estuarine nutrient concentrations.

Waikato River Independent Scoping Study (WRISS)

Many of New Zealand's aquatic ecosystems, and their services, are in a degraded and often worsening state. NIWA is involved in research and consultation' aimed at improving the health of our freshwater systems.

Latest videos

Waikoropupu Springs video

NIWA freshwater scientists have completed monitoring the ultra-clear water of the Te Waikoropupū Springs near Takaka.

Water sensitive Urban Design

Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) has emerged as a form of development that, among other objectives, aims to deliver resilient water ways providing a range of benefits to urban communities.

Water Sensitive Urban Design

Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) has emerged as a form of development that, among other objectives, aims to deliver resilient water ways providing a range of benefits to urban communities.

Citizen scientists take on Hutt River

Restoration of aquatic ecosystems

This project aims to increase our knowledge of aquatic ecosystems and their restoration, and apply this to degraded streams, rivers, lakes and estuaries.

Environment report a clear picture of change: NIWA

Media Release

18 April 2019

The latest state of the environment report released today provides New Zealanders with clear evidence that our climate, freshwater and marine systems are changing, says NIWA.

Aquaculture posters

The two Pelorus posters illustrated below are also available as PDF documents:

Scientists make break-through in saving freshwater mussels

Doctoral student, Michele Melchior, has made an important breakthrough in the effort to save New Zealand's freshwater mussels, or kākahi.

Kākahi were once a valuable food source for Māori, and they also play a crucial role as indicators of the health of waterways. All three kakahi species in New Zealand are in decline.

Scientist collects rubbish to rid river of plastics

It may be rubbish to everyone else, but to Amanda Valois each little scrap of plastic on a river bank or in a waterway tells a valuable story.

Freshwater Update 80, March 2019

Freshwater Update 80 brings you the latest information from our Freshwater & Estuaries Centre, with articles that cross a broad spectrum of freshwater research. This edition has articles about the sources of plastics in our waterways, the discovery of long-lost lake plant species and a breakthrough in research about freshwater mussels/kākahi.

Scientist collects rubbish to rid rivers of plastics

Feature story

16 January 2019

It may be rubbish to everyone else, but to Amanda Valois each little scrap of plastic on a river bank or in a waterway tells a valuable story.

Urban Runoff Quality Information System (URQIS)

NIWA's Urban Runoff Quality Information System (URQIS) provides planners, engineers and researchers with information about the quality of stormwater from different locations and landuses and under different flow conditions.

Looking after water in our towns and cities

The Urban Water Principles report released this month is a first step in tackling some big issues in a collaborative way.

Community project inspires scientists

A project to restore a stream catchment in Kaikōura—damaged in the 2016 earthquake—is being described as inspirational by NIWA scientists.

Reducing sedimentation

Feature story

15 October 2018

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.

New collaborative project on productive riparian buffers

NIWA is working with DairyNZ, Regional Councils and farmers on a new project to evaluate riparian planting options that have economic as well as environmental benefits. The project is co-funded by the Sustainable Farming Fund. Read the article Research into productive riparian buffers on the DairyNZ website, or contact Dr Fleur Matheson.

‘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, September 2018

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.

Community project inspires scientists

Media Release

6 August 2018

A project to restore a stream catchment in Kaikōura—damaged in the 2016 earthquake—is being described as inspirational by NIWA scientists.

Water sensitive urban design: a concrete case

Feature story

27 June 2018

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.

Water storage solutions for irrigation schemes

Demand for water has intensified over the past two decades at a phenomenal rate in New Zealand. Most easy-to-abstract direct run-of-stream resources (i.e. flows without existing upstream modification) are already highly allocated in many regions. With availability of further run-of-stream resources decreasing, farmers are looking more to water storage as a way of achieving more reliable irrigation water supply. This approach allows more water to be made available at the time of need and thus enhances supply reliability.

Irrigation Insight

The Irrigation Insight programme is focussed on developing knowledge, tools and the confidence of dairy farmers in better managing irrigation, precisely applying the water needed—where, when and how much.

Freshwater macroinvertebrate trait database updated

There is growing interest in the use of freshwater macroinvertebrate species traits as an assessment tool for monitoring human impacts on stream ecosystems, but what exactly is a species trait?

Good practice guide for waste stabilization ponds: design and operation

Water New Zealand has recently published an update and expansion of the old Ministry of Works Guidelines for Oxidation Ponds 1974.

A clearer look at Te Waikoropupū Springs

Te Waikoropupū Springs near Takaka are the largest freshwater springs in New Zealand, the largest cold-water springs in the Southern Hemisphere, and are nationally and internationally valued for their remarkable colour and clarity. NIWA has recently finished a project with Tasman District Council (TDC) that has estimated the current average visual clarity to be around 76 m.

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

25 May 2018

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

Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) has emerged as a form of development that, among other objectives, aims to deliver resilient water ways providing a range of benefits to urban communities.