Freshwater Data

"River flow refers to the quantity of water passing a point in the river over a certain amount of time. Different rivers have different flow patterns, such as sharp peak flows following rain with low flows in between, or high spring flows from snow melt. These flow characteristics affect how much water is available for irrigation, drinking water, hydro–electric power generation, and recreational activities such as fishing and boating. River flows are also very important for maintaining the health and form of a waterway.

This dataset relates to the "Geographic pattern of natural river flows" measure on the Environmental Indicators, Te taiao Aotearoa website. "

For more information, refer to the March 2015 report: 'Hydrological indices for national environmental reporting' www.mfe.govt.nz/sites/default/files/media/Fresh%20....

16 April 2020: Subsequent to publication in April 2019 we discovered two small errors with this dataset. These included:

• Errors in the coordinates of some sites and their associated metadata (such as landcover and elevation).
• Errors in our calculation of dominant landcover.

In addition, flow data from TopNet has also been updated.

These changes have a minor impact on overall results. These changes have have been corrected, and are republished here, as part of the Our freshwater 2020 release.

​

This dataset measures how water quality in New Zealand’s rivers is changing over time. It contains nine parameters of water quality based on measurements made at monitored river sites in years 1990-2017:

• Nitrate-nitrogen
• Ammoniacal nitrogen
• Total nitrogen
• Total phosphorus
• Dissolved reactive phosphorus
• Water clarity
• Turbidity
• Escherichia coli
• Macroinvertebrate community index

More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.

Summary report available at www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/fresh-water/water-qua....

"A unit of rock or sediment is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water.
Aquifers may occur at different depths in the same location. The map shows the areas of New Zealand’s land surface above one or more aquifers. The aquifer boundaries were described by White (2001), and some boundaries were updated by Moreau and Bekele (2015), using information provided by regional councils and from Lovett and Cameron (2015). The map has 153 polygons (aquifer outlines), some of which have more than one aquifer.
Methods for defining aquifer boundaries generally rely on knowing the locations and characteristics of productive wells, and using geological maps to identify water–bearing materials. In many cases, these boundaries are also influenced by management attributes such as regional or property boundaries, and surface water catchments (Lovett & Cameron, 2015).
This dataset relates to the ""Location and area of New Zealand’s aquifers"" measure on the Environmental Indicators, Te taiao Aotearoa website.
"

River water quality water is valued for many reasons including ecological function and habitat, recreational value, its role in supporting people and industry, and its cultural significance. Nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus are essential for plant growth, however too much in rivers can lead to ‘nuisance’ growths of river algae and aquatic plants, degrading habitat. High concentrations in the form of ammoniacal nitrogen and nitrate-nitrogen can be toxic to fish and other aquatic animals. Water clarity is a measure of underwater visibility, and affects habitat of aquatic life such as fish and birds, and can also impact on aesthetic values and recreational use of rivers and streams. Escherichia coli (E.coli) can indicate the presence of pathogens (disease-causing organisms) from animal or human faeces, which can cause illness.

File contains raw data collected at regional council and NIWA monitored sites over the period 1975-2013. Fields are described as follows. Refer to Larned et al. 2015 for further details:
* nemarid ---- Unique NIWA ID
* lawaid ---- Unique LAWA ID
* rcid ---- Collection agency
* srcid ---- Region site is located in
* sflag ---- River (r) or Estuary (e)
* river ---- River name
* location ---- Name of site, assigned by collection agency
* nzmge ---- easting
* nzmgn ---- northing
* nzreach ---- REC1 segment identifier
* sdate ---- Sample date (yyyy-mm-dd)
* Q ---- Flow recorded when sample was taken (if available), cumecs
* npid ---- NIWA parameter ID (as used in Larned et al. 2015)
* lpid ---- LAWA parameter ID
* fdval ---- Parameter value (units are mg/m3, except CLAR (m) and ECOLI (n/100 mL))

For more information please see:
Larned, S, Snelder, T, Unwin, M, McBride, G, Verburg, P, McMillan, H (2015).Analysis of Water Quality in New Zealand lakes and Rivers: data sources, data sets, assumptions, limitations, methods and results. NIWA Client Report no. CHC2015-033. Available at data.mfe.govt.nz/x/Mo8VUY from the Ministry for the Environment dataservice.

This dataset relates to the "River water quality" measures on the Environmental Indicators, Te taiao Aotearoa website.

"Wetlands support unique biodiversity and provide important services. They clean water of nutrients and sediment, help dampen floods, provide habitat, and act as carbon sinks. They are also valued for their spiritual and cultural significance and as important sources of food and materials, such as flax. Draining them for agricultural and urban development has reduced their extent. Understanding this reduction provides insight into the loss of biodiversity and natural function.
This dataset relates to the ""Wetland extent"" measure on the Environmental Indicators, Te taiao Aotearoa website. "

Wetlands support high levels of biodiversity. They provide habitat for native invertebrates, plants, fish, and bird species (eg fernbird, kōkopu, and eels), many of which live only in wetlands. Wetlands act as ‘kidneys’ and giant sponges – they clean the water of excess nutrients and sediment, control flood water and pollutants, and act as carbon sinks (removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere). Wetlands have strong cultural and spiritual importance for Māori. They are a food source (eg eel, whitebait) and provide material for weaving (eg raupō, harakeke (flax)). Draining wetlands for agricultural and urban development over the past 150 years has led to significant wetland loss and deterioration.

Summary report available at www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/fresh-water/analysis-...

More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.

"Wetlands support unique biodiversity and provide important services. They clean water of nutrients and sediment, help dampen floods, provide habitat, and act as carbon sinks. They are also valued for their spiritual and cultural significance and as important sources of food and materials, such as flax. Draining them for agricultural and urban development has reduced their extent. Understanding this reduction provides insight into the loss of biodiversity and natural function.
This dataset relates to the ""Wetland extent"" measure on the Environmental Indicators, Te taiao Aotearoa website. "

23 April 2021: A new version of this data set has been published. It includes data on 4 parameters (Ammoniacal nitrogen (adjusted), Escherichia coli, Macroinvertebrate Community Index and Total Phosphorus) that had been missing from the file that was published as part of the Our freshwater 2020 release in April 16 2020. The updated data set also includes data on DRP for all 593,337 REC segments, since the file from April 16 2020 only had data for 255,860 of these segments.

16 April 2020: Subsequent to publication in April 2019 we discovered two small errors with this dataset. These included:

• Errors in the coordinates of some sites and their associated metadata (such as landcover and elevation).
• Errors in our calculation of dominant landcover.

In addition, flow data from TopNet has also been updated.

These changes have a minor impact on overall results. These changes have have been corrected, and are republished here, as part of the Our freshwater 2020 release.

​

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

1) The main (cleaned) dataset is structured by each row having a nzsegment and np_id combination. A large dataset (~ 1 GB) has resulted, due to the inclusion of the ANZG/NOF columns and the 10 different np_id values. There are ~ 6 million rows to this dataset, however a 32-bit version of Microsoft Excel will only display/download ~ 1 million rows. A DBMS, statistical or GIS application is needed to view the entire dataset.

2) A smaller raw dataset (see attachments) is provided which structures each row relating to a river segment and drops the ANZG/NOF columns.

3) The attached metadata/date quality report provides further information on the NOF, ANZG and the "McDowell meet/doesnt meet" attachment.

​

This dataset contains ten parameters of water quality based on measurements made at monitored river sites:

• Nitrate-nitrogen
• Ammoniacal nitrogen
• Ammoniacal nitrogen (adjusted)
• Total nitrogen
• Total phosphorus
• Dissolved reactive phosphorus
• Water clarity
• Turbidity
• Escherichia coli
• Macroinvertebrate community index These parameters are used to measure:
• Modelled median values for all of New Zealand’s river length for the period 2013 to 2017
• For selected indicators, how the modelled values compare to the National Objectives Framework (NOF) (MfE, 2017) bands related to ecosystem health and human health for recreation, and to expected concentrations in natural conditions, as shown by the default guideline values in the Australian and New Zealand guidelines for fresh and marine water quality (ANZG, 2018)

More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.

Summary report available at www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/fresh-water/spatial-m...

We report on trends in nitrate-nitrogen from livestock that has leached from soil per year across New Zealand since 1990.

Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for plant growth. It occurs naturally, but in agricultural systems more nitrogen is commonly added to soils as fertiliser or as urine or dung from livestock. Not all the additional nitrogen can be used by plants and microorganisms, so some nitrate-nitrogen may leach (drain) from the soil. Livestock urine is the dominant source of nitrate-nitrogen leached from soil. Leached nitrate-nitrogen can enter groundwater and waterways, potentially causing ecological harm. The amount of nitrate-nitrogen leaching from the soil varies around the country as a result of different land uses, climates, and soils.

More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.

Summary report available at www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/fresh-water/spatial-n...

Regional councils issue resource consents for the taking of fresh water for various purposes, including irrigation, drinking, hydroelectricity, and industry. Water can be taken from surface water or groundwater.

The file provides the primary source and primary use of the water take for each consented take.