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Throughout New Zealand, there are many initiatives underway to improve water quality and aquatic ecosystem health. These initiatives include action by individuals, iwi/hapū, communities, industry, and central and local government – often working together to address waterway health issues. Despite th...

During the swimming season (around November/December to February/March), regional, unitary, district and city councils, along with public health agencies, assess the health risks from faecal (‘poo’) contamination at swimming spots. Toxic algae is also regularly monitored at some river and lake sites...

What are benthic macroinvertebrates? Benthic macroinvertebrates are small animals without backbones that live on or just below the stream-bed. Most benthic macroinvertebrates are big enough to be seen with the naked eye, and range in length from 0.25 mm to 15 cm in the case of a fully grown freshwat...

Why are we recording the current state of our freshwaters? We measure the current state of our rivers, streams and lakes to get an idea about whether our water is suitable for use for various purposes, and about the effect of different pressures (e.g. urbanisation, farming, etc.) on the condition of...

A trend in water quality data indicates that measured values have been overall rising or falling over a time period.  LAWA displays trends for the last 5, 10 and 15 years for the river and lake water quality data. A trend may be classified as indeterminate if there is insufficient evidence to determ...

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...

Keeping your dog safe and healthy this summer A trip to the river or lake is a lot of fun for dogs and their owners alike. Knowing how to keep your dog safe from toxic algae means you are able to relax and enjoy the adventure even more. Toxic algae can be seriously harmful to dogs and people, even i...

New Zealand Lakes Lakes are localised bodies of water that are surrounded by land. They may be fed by, or feed into rivers or may be maintained by rainfall and groundwater inputs. Lakes exist in all shapes and sizes and may be natural (for example formed by glaciation or landslides) or man-made (for...

The NRWQN (National River Water Quality Network) consists of 77 sites on 35 rivers that are fairly evenly distributed over the two main islands of New Zealand. Monitoring commenced in January 1989. Water samples are collected monthly and analysed for a range of physical and chemical parameters (i.e....

What is Nitrogen? Nitrogen is a naturally occurring chemical element, with the symbol N. In its gas form (N2), nitrogen makes up about 80% of the Earth's atmosphere. In other forms it is one of the most important nutrients for plant growth. It is also found in amino acids that make up proteins, in n...

What is pH? The degree of acidity, or alkalinity, in water as measured on a scale of 0 to 14 where 7 is neutral, less than 7 is more acidic, and greater than 7 is more alkaline.

What is Phosphorus? Phosphorus is an element with the symbol P that attaches to soil particles and is naturally present in water in low concentrations. Together with nitrogen, it is an essential nutrient for instream plant life and is commonly measured as either total phosphorus (TP) or dissolved re...