NRC — Hard work improving waterways reaping dividends in Far North

The Awanui River where it enters Kaitaia (and provides the town's water supply) - clean in the upper reaches, not so much lower down.

The Northland Regional Council has acknowledged the efforts of land owners, businesses, iwi, council staff and community groups to improve the region's rivers following the release of National River Water Quality Trends data.

This data, released by Land, Air, Water Aotearoa (LAWA), showed water quality was improving at more sites monitored over 10 years than was deteriorating.

"Our team regularly monitors the water quality at more than 40 river sites across our region. The results are freely available on the LAWA website, and form part of the national trend," NRC manager regulatory services Colin Dall said.

The council worked with land owners, businesses, iwi and the wider community to reduce run-off into and pollution of local waterways, manage river ecosystems and maintain good water levels, council chairman Bill Shepherd saying most of those interactions were positive, suggesting that Northlanders cared about the quality of their rivers and streams.

"It's important to remember all our individual solutions contribute to the bigger picture," he said.

"This includes everything from working with our catchment groups to working with land owners to develop and implement farm water quality improvement plans, the provision of subsided poplar and willow trees for soil conservation planting, and our Environment Fund, which helps land owners do work to improve water quality, as well as a range of other projects.

"The National River Water Quality Trends are promising, and I hope people feel empowered to get involved in freshwater management, whether that's through informed consultations and submissions, community projects, or by reducing their own water footprint," he added.

LAWA is a collaboration between the country's 16 regional and unitary councils, the Cawthron Institute and Ministry for the Environment, supported by Massey University and the Tindall Foundation.

Cawthron Institute freshwater group manager and ecologist Dr Roger Young described the overall picture as encouraging, hopefully representing a turning point in New Zealand's "river health story."

"While this analysis gives us cause for optimism, water quality is just one indicator of river health, and there is still more work to be done," he added however. "While all parameters show there are more sites improving than degrading, there are still degrading sites for all parameters.