Freshwater Quality

Latest news

Putting algae to work

Feature story

15 December 2022

Can native freshwater algae help restore the mauri of local waterways? Lawrence Gullery investigates.

Taonga Species Series: Tuangi

Feature story

31 October 2022

What does science tell us about New Zealand cockles?

Satellites reveal NZ’s coastal health

Media Release

21 September 2022

For the first time, satellites have been used to track coastal water health around Aotearoa New Zealand.

Demand grows for NIWA’s Riparian Management Training

Media Release

9 June 2022

NIWA has updated and restarted a course using a riparian planning tool developed by one of its former chief scientists more than 20 years ago.

Latest videos

The SHMAK method for rubbish involves collecting and identifying all the rubbish (litter) in the stream and on the stream banks. It was designed to complement rubbish assessments on our beaches so the data is comparable.

SHMAK habitat – visual habitat assessment

The SHMAK visual habitat assessment needs no equipment, only your eyes. It gives your stream a score that you can use to assess changes over time or compare streams.

SHMAK habitat – streambed composition

There are two methods for describing streambed composition: the visual assessment method is quicker while the Wolman walk is more accurate.

SHMAK stream life – how to sort and identify your benthic macroinvertebrate sample

An ice-cream tray provides an excellent container to isolate and separate your benthic macroinvertebrates. The SHMAK Benthic Macroinvertebrate Field Guide can help you with your identifications. Posting a photo to the Freshwater Invertebrates NZ project in iNaturalist can help you identify any invertebrates you don’t recognise - https://inaturalist.nz/projects/fresh... When you enter your data into the NZ Water Citizens website - https://nzwatercitizens.co.nz/ - you can use the online calculator to calculate a health score.

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.

Freshwater Restoration: Challenges and Opportunities

A presentation by NIWA’s Chief Scientist Freshwater and Estuaries, Dr John Quinn, at the Biological Heritage National Science Challenge, Wellington, May 2017.

Shallow lake rehabilitation

The naturally high organic content and slightly acidic nature of peat lakes gives them uniqueness and great ecological value but it also makes them challenging ecosystems to rehabilitate once degraded.

Compound Specific Stable Isotope tracing of sediment sources - tools to manage a sticky problem in New Zealand’s freshwaters and estuaries

Fine sediment is New Zealand’s most widespread water contaminant, degrading ecosystems, infilling dams and reservoirs and impairing recreational, cultural and aesthetic values in our rivers, estuaries and coastal seas.

New buoy for Wellington Harbour to boost water quality information

10 July 2017

A buoy with the ability to “phone home” has been deployed in Wellington Harbour today to monitor currents, waves and water quality in the harbour.

Q&A: Another way to measure river health

Feature story

20 June 2017

There’s another way of measuring the health of rivers – the health of invertebrate populations that need them, says John Quinn, NIWA Chief Scientist, Freshwater and Estuaries.

Erica Williams - Where the water is clean

Feature story

20 June 2017

Erica Williams' story starts with the website of Moerewa School, where pupil Tyra-Lee explains her connection to a very special place in her small Far North town.

Raising the bar for swimmable rivers

Feature story

20 June 2017

The government has released the ‘Clean Water’ package of proposed reforms, aimed at making more of our rivers swimmable. But how is ‘swimmable’ to be measured, and do these measures stack up?

The Love Bugs

Mayflies, caddisflies and stoneflies are living in a stream near you, or at least they should be!

Nature knows best?

Feature story

6 June 2017

Returning water to our waterways after we’ve used it in our homes, on farms and in industry is a complex and challenging process.

Dairy turns the corner

Feature story

11 June 2017

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.