Monitored sites in the Waihou River catchment
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Waihou River
The Waihou River lies in the north east of the region and marks the eastern border of the region. It arises on the western side of the Mamaku plateau and is fed by numerous tributaries arising in the Kaimai Ranges and flowing through the Kaimai Mamaku Forest Park. The river flows through the Hauraki Plains and drains into the Firth of Thames. The Waihou River main stem measures 186km in length, with about 2945km of tributaries. The catchment area is approximately 1977 square kilometres. The catchment consists of a mixture of flat to gently undulating up to steep topography. The river passes through predominantly pasture, with areas of indigenous and plantation forest in the upper reaches.
The dominant underlying geology is a mixture of tephra, alluvial and volcanic. The sampling sites are in the middle reaches of the river. The Kopuatai Peat Dome (a world-ranked biodiversity site) lies in between the Waihou and Piako Rivers. The main towns in the catchment include Putaruru, Te Aroha, Paeroa, Thames, Matamata and Waihi. There is intensive pastoral and dairy farming in the catchment. There are also working mines in the Ohinemuri River tributary catchment and historic closed mines in that catchment and the Te Aroha area.
Waikato Regional Council
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