Taranaki Freshwater Monitoring Data

Data Map

[This map is under construction, please wait for final updated map coming soon]

Data Summary Sheets

Below are all our live data summary sheets for each waterway so you can see them as we upload them. Click on the tabs below (names underlined in blue) to open each sheet. Abbreviations and colour coding are explained below the data table.

Colour codes explained:

Please note that different tests have slightly different grading systems eg. E.coli and SHMAK so read the info for each one. This is a general guide:

MWM data colour codes

Abbreviations explained:

  • V = velocity, speed of the water flow in metres per second.
  • pH = alkalinity/acidity with 1 being very acid, 14 very alkaline and 7 is waimāori. Things that can make water acid are urine or pine needles. Things that can make water more alkaline are things like fertiliser or milk. There are natural soils that can change pH too.
  • T = temperature in degrees celsius. Too hot is not good for water plants and animals. 10-14 is a good temperature.
  • Co = conductivity measured in ohms, which indicates how much particulate matter is in the water ie. more particles = higher conductivity of an electrical current.
  • Cl = clarity measured in cm for how far you can see through the water.
  • H = habitat, an assessment of the plants, stream-bed and silt in/around the awa.
  • I = invertebrates, these are the indicator species of insects we study in the awa.
  • P = periphyton, these are the algae that grow on rocks/material in the awa. High nutrients, slow flows and warm temperatures help them grow. Too much puts oxygen levels out of balance and smothers waterways.

Periphyton Quality Class: Ratings & Scores
Very good 8-10
Good 6-7.9
Moderate 4-5.9
Poor to Moderate 2-3.9
Very poor > 1.9
No rating no score (unsuitable site, water flow too fast, no light and/or invertebrate grazing high)

  • SHMAK = Stream Health Monitoring Assessment Kit, which is a broad ecological study looking at the above indicators (in yellow and green) to assess the habitat vs invertebrates and to assess the periphytons.
  • MCI = Macro-invertebrate Community Index is an assessment of the indicator bugs in the waterway.

A3_SHMAK_guide MCI id

MCI Quality Class: Ratings & Scores
Excellent > 119
Good 100-119
Fair 80-99
Poor <80

  • CHI = Cultural Health Index assesses the waterway from a Māori perspective looking at things like flow, mahingakai, mauri and access. 1 =poor, 5 = excellent.
  • E.coli = this bacteria is used as an indicator to assess the risk of contracting diseases from the water.
  • Heavy metals = chemical pollutants – this test was done on samples of watercress that were bagged and sent to Hill’s Laboratories for analysis.
  • Dioxin = a very dangerous chemical pollutant – this is a test for dioxin residue from dumping of chemicals like 24-D in landfills which can leach into waterways. At this site we took a sample of the stream-bed sediment at the outfall into the awa and sent the sample away to AssureQuality for analysis and to an independent professional for interpretation.