Water Quality

Latest news

NIWA's underwater health check

13 June 2019

At the bottom of our lakes are NIWA divers with waterproof clipboards. Sarah Fraser jumps in to find out what they’re doing.

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.

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.

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.

NIWA's underwater health check

Feature story

13 June 2019

At the bottom of our lakes are NIWA divers with waterproof clipboards. Sarah Fraser jumps in to find out what they’re doing.

National standards for discrete water quality sampling released

The long awaited National Environmental Monitoring Standard (NEMS) for Discrete Water Quality was released in March, contributing to the wider suite of existing Standards that collectively seek to improve national consistency in environmental monitoring.

Environmental report calls attention to the need for more research on water quality

The quality of New Zealand’s waterways features prominently in a newly released report on the state of our environment - an opinion editorial by NIWA Chief Scientist of Freshwater and Estuaries, Scott Larned.

Freshwater Update 81, June 2019

Freshwater Update 81 brings you the latest information from our Freshwater & Estuaries Centre, with articles ranging from how NIWA scientists are solving the longfin eel migration mystery, how we're taking you diving with us at Fieldays, and a word from one of the editors of the new Lakes Restoration Handbook.

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.