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Micro-organisms, some of which can be harmful to humans, such as E. coli.

During the swimming season (around November/December to February/March), regional, unitary, district and city councils, along with public health agencies, monitor and assess the health risks from faecal (‘poo’) contamination at swimming spots across New Zealand. At some river and lake sites, they al...

What do we mean by 'state'? On LAWA, we use the word 'state' describe a site's current conditions. For a given indicator, the state is an estimate of the concentration or value that you might expect to find in the groundwater if you were to take a sample from a well today.

What is a ‘trend’? A trend is a long-term, overall change in data in a consistent direction. Trends help us understand how water quality indicators behave over time, and whether conditions are improving or degrading.In groundwater quality, a trend shows if measured values have generally risen or fal...

What do we mean by 'state'? On LAWA, we use the term 'state' to describe the current condition of a lake for a given water quality indicator. 

What do we mean by 'state'? On LAWA, we use the term 'state' to describe the current condition at a river or stream site for a given water quality indicator. 

What do we mean by ‘trend’? A trend is a long-term, overall change in data in a consistent direction. Trends help us understand how water quality indicators behave over time, and whether conditions are improving or degrading. In river and lake water quality, a trend shows if measured values have gen...

E. coli (Escherichia coli) is a type of bacteria commonly found in the gut of warm-blooded animals and people.  E. coli naturally occurs in freshwater and is not usually harmful in itself. However, high concentrations of this bacteria exceeding water quality guidelines indicate faecal contamination...

See E. coli

What are faecal indicator bacteria? Faecal indicator bacteria (FIB) are bacteria that come from the gut of warm-blooded animals (including people). FIB are introduced to the environment through animal and bird droppings, effluent and waste water discharges, and stormwater run-off. The presence of th...

Faecal microbes can cause disease in humans (“pathogens”) if they come in contact with them. Microbial pathogens can also be concentrated by filter-feeding shellfish, posing a risk to people eating shellfish. Faecal contamination is monitored using “indicator” microbes that are present in the faeces...

Particles of animal dung or human faeces which carry bacteria that can be harmful if ingested. See also E. coli. View a factsheet on Faecal indicators