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Waikawa Estuary

Waikawa Estuary is a moderately large, shallow, well flushed “tidal lagoon” type estuary, situated at the end of the Waikawa River, adjacent to the small community of Waikawa. It drains a primarily agricultural and forested catchment. The estuary discharges into the adjacent Porpoise Bay.

The estuary serves as a port for several fishing boats which operate from the jetties near the main centre of Waikawa township. The estuary is popular for fishing (particularly whitebaiting), shellfish collection (primarily cockles), duck shooting, boating, bathing and bird study.

 

Overall, despite extensive historical estuary margin modification and the widespread extent of mud-dominated sediments in the upper reaches, the estuary retains significant ecological value.

Monitoring is carried out in the Waikawa Estuary at three sites. Site A and B have been monitored since 2005, while site C has been monitored since 2019. The sites are sampled once each year (during summer) for mud content, trace metals in sediment, and macrofauna along with other sediment characteristics.

Estuary summary

What makes my estuary unique?

Explore the characteristics of this estuary

Overview

Estuary characteristics

  • Total area
    760 hectares
  • Key rivers
    • Waikawa River

What's happening upstream?

See results from monitored river quality sites influencing this estuary

River quality

What's happening upstream?

The physical characteristics and health of estuaries are influenced by the rivers and streams flowing into them. For instance, when it rains the mud and contaminants generated on land can be washed into rivers and eventually flow into the estuary. The health of our rivers and streams can therefore be very important for Estuary Health, and understanding the upstream pressures can help with interpreting estuary monitoring data.

Monitoring is undertaken for a range of river health indicators (e.g., water quality and ecology) in many catchments across the region. Where there are monitored river catchments that influence this estuary, these are shown below. You can click through to view monitoring results from these River Quality sites to see current state and how health has changed over time.

What surrounds my estuary?

See land cover information from monitored catchments that surround this estuary

Land cover

What surrounds my estuary?

The physical characteristics and health of estuaries are influenced by local geography and the way we use our land. This is because estuaries are the receiving environments for many of our land use activities. Land cover information can be used as an indicator of land use, therefore knowing the surrounding land cover can help us understand which pressures might be affecting Estuary Health.

Where there is land cover information available for nearby catchments, these are listed below. These figures show the types of vegetation and built or natural features that surround the estuary margins and the rivers that flow into this estuary. You can click through to the Land Cover topic to see these land cover classes broken down into further detail, and view changes over time.

Waikawa River

What do the Broad Land Cover Classes mean?

Land cover information on LAWA is grouped into land cover classes at two levels of detail – broad and medium. For this overview we are showing the six broad-level classes for the catchment.

  • Forest

    Inclusive of; indigenous and exotic forest.

  • Scrub / shrubland

    Inclusive of; indigenous and exotic scrub / shrubland.

  • Grassland / other herbaceous vegetation

    Inclusive of; tussock and exotic grassland and other herbaceous vegetation.

  • Cropland

    Inclusive of; cropping / horticulture.

  • Urban / bare / lightly-vegetated surfaces

    Inclusive of; natural bare/lightly-vegetated and artificial bare surfaces, and urban area

  • Water bodies
Monitored sites 3

Select a monitored site from the list below

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