Freshwater

Different land uses and point source discharges can cause a variety of environmental impacts on water quality and mahinga kai.

A resource consent is typically required when taking, damming, or diverting water.

Crops grown for agricultural purposes are mostly produced for animal feed.

The most common agricultural activities in Aotearoa are dairy, cropping, sheep, and beef farming.

This project will demonstrate the commercial feasibility of producing bio-oil by the conversion of algae biomass that has been grown in wastewater treatment facilities. In particular we aim to maximise algae production in High Rate Algal Ponds (HRAP) by adding carbon dioxide, and demonstrate energy efficient conversion of algal biomass to bio-oil.

Estuaries are highly valuable systems that provide enormous economic and cultural benefits to all kinds of people. However, expanding human populations and urban development around estuaries is increasing contaminant loads, with metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) accumulating in sediments.

Farmers rely on irrigation, but water is a limited resource and little is know about how to manage it best. NIWA has developed a hydrology and soil science model to show how much to water, and when, to get the best results.

New Zealand's rivers and streams, and the diverse fish that live in them, are worth protecting. But the question of which species prefer to live where was unanswered until NIWA completed this major survey.

The kōaro was once abundant in the Te Arawa lakes near Rotorua in New Zealand’s North Island. NIWA has assessed the viability of restoring this species in the region.

Shallow lakes are highly valued but often degraded in New Zealand.

A national quality assurance (QA) framework for community-based monitoring (CBM) of Aotearoa New Zealand’s freshwaters.