River Water Quality

The quality of water in our rivers is defined by how the physical, chemical and biological condition of the water and channel meets the needs of people and ecosystems.

These conditions are influenced primarily by the climate, source of flow, geology and land use. The state of water quality in Tasman District’s rivers is described with respect to these needs or values, monitoring programmes (both Council-run and other), what Council is doing to improve water quality and what you can do.

River Water Quality 2010 - Summary Report

Water quality in the vast majority of streams and rivers of Tasman District is good, due in part to the large areas of many catchments being covered with native forest. Therefore, any inputs of pollutants from developed land in the middle and lower reaches are substantially diluted by the large volume of high quality water from upstream.

Streams in lowland areas in urban or intensive pastoral land use generally have poorer water quality. The most common issues in these waterways are:

High faecal bacteria, especially after rain
Fine sediment clogging the bed and causing dirty water, especially after rain
High water temperatures in summer
Low dissolved oxygen in summer

Unlike many other regions in New Zealand nutrient concentrations are only above guidelines in a few locations. At these same locations biological growths such as filamentous algae are a problem, particularly during the summer months.

State of River Water Quality in Tasman

Measuring River Water Quality

What Affects River Water Quality and Stream Health

Toxic Algae in Our Waterways

Reducing Pollution of our Waterways

Further Information

The technical report presents results of Tasman District Council's "State of the Environment" Surface Water Quality Monitoring Programme from 2000-10, and incorporates monitoring data collected by the National Water Quality Network from 1989 to 2009.

State of the Environment Report River Water Quality in Tasman District 2010