Freshwater Data

Adapted by Ministry for the Environment and Statistics New Zealand to provide for environmental reporting transparency. Dataset used to develop the "River water quality: Escherichia coli" indicator (available at www.stats.govt.nz/indicators/river-water-quality-e...).

This dataset contains one parameter of water quality based on measurements made at monitored river sites:

• Escherichia coli

Escherichia coli in river waters is one of five parameters that provide an overview of New Zealand’s river water quality and how it is changing over time.

This dataset includes:

• E. coli concentrations measured at monitoring sites for New Zealand’s river length for the period 2016–2020
• A comparison of measured E. coli concentrations at monitored sites with the proportion of human modified landcover in the upstream catchment area
• predicted risk of Campylobacter infection, as shown by the median concentration, 95th percentile and percentage of results above 260 and 540 colony forming units per 100 millilitres (cfu/100 mL) compared to the National Objectives Framework (NOF) bands related to human contact

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 environment.govt.nz/publications/environment-aotea....

Adapted by Ministry for the Environment and Statistics New Zealand to provide for environmental reporting transparency. Dataset used to develop the "River water quality: Escherichia coli" indicator (available at www.stats.govt.nz/indicators/river-water-quality-e...).

This dataset contains one parameter of water quality based on measurements made at monitored river sites:

• Escherichia coli

Escherichia coli in river waters is one of five parameters that provide an overview of New Zealand’s river water quality and how it is changing over time.

This dataset includes:

• trends in concentrations of E. coli based on measurements made at monitoring sites during the 10-year period from 2011 to 2020, the 20-year period from 2001 to 2020, and the 30-year period from 1991 to 2020.

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 environment.govt.nz/publications/environment-aotea....

Adapted by Ministry for the Environment and Statistics New Zealand to provide for environmental reporting transparency. Dataset used to develop the "River water quality: Escherichia coli" indicator (available at www.stats.govt.nz/indicators/river-water-quality-e...).

This dataset contains one parameter of water quality based on measurements made at monitored river sites:

• Escherichia coli

Escherichia coli in river waters is one of five parameters that provide an overview of New Zealand’s river water quality and how it is changing over time.

This dataset includes:

• adjusted trends in concentrations of E. coli based on measurements made at monitoring sites during the 10-year period from 2011 to 2020, the 20-year period from 2001 to 2020, and the 30-year period from 1991 to 2020.

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 environment.govt.nz/publications/environment-aotea....

Adapted by Ministry for the Environment and Statistics New Zealand to provide for environmental reporting transparency. Dataset used to develop the "River water quality: macroinvertebrate community index" indicator (available at www.stats.govt.nz/indicators/river-water-quality-m...).

Benthic macroinvertebrates are small animals without backbones (for example, insects and worms). They live on and under submerged logs, rocks, and aquatic plants on the beds of rivers and streams during some part of their life cycle. Macroinvertebrates play a central role in stream ecosystems by feeding on periphyton (algae), macrophytes (aquatic plants), dead leaves and wood, or on each other. In turn, they are an important food source for fish and birds.

The macroinvertebrate community index (MCI) is used as an indicator of water quality and overall stream health. It is one of five parameters that provide an overview of New Zealand’s River water quality and how it is changing over time. This data shows:

• trends in median MCI scores for the 10-year period from 2011 to 2020, the 20-year period from 2001 to 2020, and the 30-year period from 1991 to 2020.

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 atenvironment.govt.nz/publications/environment-aotea... .

Adapted by Ministry for the Environment and Statistics New Zealand to provide for environmental reporting transparency. Dataset used to develop the "River water quality: macroinvertebrate community index" indicator (available at www.stats.govt.nz/indicators/river-water-quality-m...).

Benthic macroinvertebrates are small animals without backbones (for example, insects and worms). They live on and under submerged logs, rocks, and aquatic plants on the beds of rivers and streams during some part of their life cycle. Macroinvertebrates play a central role in stream ecosystems by feeding on periphyton (algae), macrophytes (aquatic plants), dead leaves and wood, or on each other. In turn, they are an important food source for fish and birds.

The macroinvertebrate community index (MCI) is used as an indicator of water quality and overall stream health. It is one of five parameters that provide an overview of New Zealand’s river water quality and how it is changing over time. This data shows:

• MCI scores as measured median values at monitored sites for the period 2016–2020
• how these compare to the macroinvertebrates National Objectives Framework (NOF) bands related to ecosystem health.

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 environment.govt.nz/publications/environment-aotea....

Adapted by Ministry for the Environment and Statistics New Zealand to provide for environmental reporting transparency. Dataset used to develop the "River water quality: macroinvertebrate community index" indicator (available at www.stats.govt.nz/indicators/river-water-quality-m...).

Benthic macroinvertebrates are small animals without backbones (for example, insects and worms). They live on and under submerged logs, rocks, and aquatic plants on the beds of rivers and streams during some part of their life cycle. Macroinvertebrates play a central role in stream ecosystems by feeding on periphyton (algae), macrophytes (aquatic plants), dead leaves and wood, or on each other. In turn, they are an important food source for fish and birds.

The macroinvertebrate community index (MCI) is used as an indicator of water quality and overall stream health. It is one of five parameters that provide an overview of New Zealand’s River water quality and how it is changing over time. This data shows

• trends in median MCI scores for the 10-year period from 2011 to 2020, the 20-year period from 2001 to 2020, and the 30-year period from 1991 to 2020.

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 environment.govt.nz/publications/environment-aotea....

Adapted by Ministry for the Environment and Statistics New Zealand to provide for environmental reporting transparency. Dataset used to develop the "Lake water quality" indicator (available at www.stats.govt.nz/indicators/lake-water-quality).

We report on eight biological, chemical, and physical lake water quality attributes based on measurements made at monitored lake sites: trophic level index (TLI), chlorophyll-a, E. coli, total phosphorus, total nitrogen, ammoniacal nitrogen, nitrate-nitrogen, and clarity.

For selected attributes we report trends based on measurements made at monitoring sites over a 10-year period (2011–2020).

High concentrations of the measured biological and chemical attributes or low clarity indicates poor habitats for some species of animals and plants, risks for human recreation, potential toxic effects on aquatic life, and poor overall lake health.

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 environment.govt.nz/publications/environment-aotea....

Adapted by Ministry for the Environment and Statistics New Zealand to provide for environmental reporting transparency. Dataset used to develop the "Lake water quality" indicator (available at www.stats.govt.nz/indicators/lake-water-quality).

We report on eight biological, chemical, and physical lake water quality attributes based on measurements made at monitored lake sites: trophic level index (TLI), chlorophyll-a, E. coli, total phosphorus, total nitrogen, ammoniacal nitrogen, nitrate-nitrogen, and clarity.

For all attributes we report on the median values for monitored sites during the period 2016–20. For selected attributes we also report:

• how these values compare to the National Objectives Framework (NOF) bands related to ecosystem health (trophic level), toxicity, and E. coli (MfE, 2020)
• a comparison of NOF and trophic level index (TLI) bands at monitored sites with the proportion of human modified landcover in the upstream catchment area

High concentrations of the measured biological and chemical attributes or low clarity indicates poor habitats for some species of animals and plants, risks for human recreation, potential toxic effects on aquatic life, and poor overall lake health.

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 environment.govt.nz/publications/environment-aotea....

Adapted by Ministry for the Environment and Statistics New Zealand to provide for environmental reporting transparency. Dataset used to develop the "Lake water quality" indicator (available at www.stats.govt.nz/indicators/lake-water-quality).

We report on eight biological, chemical, and physical lake water quality attributes based on spatially modelled data: trophic level index (TLI), chlorophyll-a, E. coli, total phosphorus, total nitrogen, ammoniacal nitrogen, nitrate-nitrogen, and clarity.

We also report median values and TLI and NOF bands for selected attributes using spatially modelled data with predictions for 3,813 lakes in New Zealand that are larger than 1 hectare.

High concentrations of the measured biological and chemical attributes or low clarity indicates poor habitats for some species of animals and plants, risks for human recreation, potential toxic effects on aquatic life, and poor overall lake health.

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 environment.govt.nz/publications/environment-aotea....

Adapted by Ministry for the Environment and Statistics New Zealand to provide for environmental reporting transparency. Dataset used to develop the "River water quality: clarity and turbidity" indicator (available at www.stats.govt.nz/indicators/river-water-quality-c...).

This dataset contains two attriutes of water quality based on measurements made at monitored river sites:

• Clarity
• Turbidity

Clarity and turbidity in river waters is one of five parameters that provide an overview of New Zealand’s river water quality and how it is changing over time.

This dataset includes:

• trends in clarity and turbidity based on measurements made at monitoring sites during the 10-year period from 2011 to 2020, the 20-year period from 2001 to 2020, and the 30-year period from 1991 to 2020.

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 environment.govt.nz/publications/environment-aotea....