Freshwater
On this page
Research and consultancy on the chemistry, physics, and biology of lakes and rivers, the complex interactions influencing these ecosystems, and their response to environmental disturbances.
Research
Our research in this area includes work on:
- Aquatic plant management
- Biodiversity and biosecurity
- Catchments
- Ecosystems
- Fisheries
- Floods and droughts
- Hydraulics
- Environmental databases and data management tools
Consultancy
- Environmental impact assessment
- Modelling ecological response to contaminants
- Determining optimum flow regime for impounded rivers
- Modelling transport and dispersion in rivers
- Water quality standards and legislation assessment
- Specialist analytical services
- Environmental monitoring of consent conditions
- Freshwater fisheries management
- Aquatic plant identification and management strategies
- Riparian management for improving stream habitat
- Wastewater treatment technologies for small communities and agricultural industries
- Ecotoxicological assessment of wastewater discharges
- Stream flow monitoring networks
- Design and maintenance of environmental databases
Key Contacts
Aquatic Plants – Dr John Clayton [ j.clayton@niwa.co.nz ]
Chemistry / Pollution – Dr Bob Wilcock [ r.wilcock@niwa.co.nz ]
Environmental Statistical Methods – Graham McBride [ g.mcbride@niwa.co.nz ]
Fisheries – Dr Don Jellyman [ d.jellyman@niwa.co.nz ]
Fisheries – Ian Jowett [ i.jowett@niwa.co.nz ]
Hydrology and Catchment Processes – Dr Ross Woods [ r.woods@niwa.co.nz ]
Hydraulics / Hydrodynamics – Dr Barry Biggs [ b.biggs@niwa.co.nz ]
Lakes – Dr Julie Hall [ j.hall@niwa.co.nz ]
Land / Water Interactions – Dr Bob Wilcock [ r.wilcock@niwa.co.nz ], Dr Sandy Elliott [ s.elliott@niwa.co.nz ]
Riparian Processes – Dr Rob Davies-Colley [ r.davies-colley@niwa.co.nz ]
River Ecology – Dr John Quinn [ j.quinn@niwa.co.nz ], Dr Scott Larned [ s.larned@niwa.co.nz ]
Sediment Processes – Dr Murray Hicks [ m.hicks@niwa.co.nz ]
Urban Water - Dr Jacquie Reed [ j.reed@niwa.co.nz ]
Waste Treatment – Dr Chris Tanner [ c.tanner@niwa.co.nz ], Dr Rupert Craggs [ r.craggs@niwa.co.nz ]
Water Resources Archive – Dr Charles Pearson [ c.pearson@niwa.co.nz ]
Wetlands – Dr Brian Sorrell [ b.sorrell@niwa.co.nz ], Dr Chris Tanner [ c.tanner@niwa.co.nz ]
Online Services & Data
Freshwater Biodata Information System (FBIS)
– NIWA has completed (under contract to the Department of Conservation), development of an information system that integrates all NIWA-held freshwater biodata – both native and introduced (initially including fish, invertebrates, submerged macrophytes, and algae including diatoms). FBIS provides web-based GIS-supported interactive map searching and display of freshwater biodata from NZ’s freshwater ecosystems. FBIS is available both as a data repository and as a source of freshwater biodata for other freshwater data-holding institutions to use. For a summary of FBIS and its functionality see: http://www.niwa.co.nz/pubs/wa/12-3/fbis
New Zealand Freshwater Fish Database – The New Zealand Freshwater Fish Database (NZFFD) records the occurrence of fish in fresh waters of New Zealand, including major offshore islands.
Water Resources Archive – The Water Resources Archive is the national repository for data from more than 1500 river and lake locations throughout the country. Types of data stored are river and lake water levels, river flows, river suspended sediment concentrations, rainfall intensities, and river water quality parameters. Data are provided principally by the research programme Nationally Significant Database: Water Resources and Climate, using quality-assured procedures.
Publications & Articles
New Zealand’s estuaries: how they work and the issues that affect them provides an overview and offers some of the solutions NIWA research has devised over the years. The pages are linked to over two dozen relevant Water & Atmosphere articles, using them to explain in greater detail estuarine biology, physical processes, and management issues.
For and Against Mangrove Control (NIWA Information Series No. 31) is a joint production of NIWA, NZ Landcare Trust, and Waikaraka Estuary Managers. It offers facts about mangroves and mangrove spread, the consequences of various approaches to mangrove conrol, and the likelihood of achieving goals.
Freshwater Fish Atlas, describing freshwater fish of New Zealand and where they are found.
An Aquatic Weed Management Guide, produced under our Aquatic Plant Management research programme.
NIWA has contributed to “Protocols for sampling macroinvertebrates in wadeable streams” by Stark, Boothroyd, Harding, Maxted and Scarsbrook (2001). This 57-page publication is New Zealand Macroinvertebrate Working Group Report No. 1 and is available on the website of the New Zealand Limnological Society as a PDF file.
Segments on managing dairy-shed effluent have featured in the Environment Watch section of the television show “No8 Wired”. We have also produced guidelines for constructed wetlands treatment of dairy wastes (NIWA Science & Technology Series 48).
Status of Wastewater Treatment Wetlands in New Zealand by Chris Tanner and James Sukias features on EcoEng Online, the website of the International Ecological Engineering Society.
The New Zealand Constructed Wetland Planting Guidelines (2006), which provide information on plant species selection, establishment and management for wastewater treatment wetlands, are available on the NZWWA website. Constructed Wetland Planting Guidelines
A number of hydrology experiments, including Ashley River Catchment Experiment Data, Cropp River Basin Experimental Data and Taieri River Basin Experiment Data.
Education
“New Zealand streams & rivers” by NIWA author Scott Larned is published by the Royal Society as Alpha 117. The 8-page publication includes these topics: managing streams, land-use change, state of the world’s waterways, the New Zealand river scenario, water quality in New Zealand, urban streams, and restoring streams and rivers. Copies can be ordered from the Royal Society website and there are accompanying teacher notes and student activities.
Definitions of Common Hydrological Terms
