Waitekohe

The Waitekohe sub–catchment is located four kilometres south of Katikati, inside a 2178 hectare catchment area that flows from the Kaimai Range (750 metres above sea level) to the Tauranga Harbour. The Waitekohe sub–catchment is part of the Tauranga Ecological District; is 2 km wide, 11 km long, and is situated between Lund and Lockington Roads. With 100 km of stream margin and 4 km of harbour margin, the primary streams are the Waitekohe (10km length) and Tuapo Stream (4 km). All streams and tributaries in this sub–catchment are classified as aquatic ecosystem streams, and are recognised as migratory pathways for indigenous fish species. A large proportion of the vegetation land cover is pastoral, in which the majority of this land cover is found in the middle and lower sub–catchment of the Waitekohe. A smaller but significant proportion of the sub–catchments’ land cover is horticultural and primarily located in the lower catchment. The geology is derived from the Matua subgroup consisting of pumiceous, rhylolitic andesitic sand, gravel and mud. Soils are derived from air – fall ash and belong to the Katitkati soil series. Soils on the stream flats are recent and consist of fluvial sands, silts, gravels and boulders. These soils are versatile but vulnerable to erosion under poor vegetation cover.