Catchment environmental monitoring report: 2011/12

TR 2013/19
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Report: TR 2013/19

Author: Claire Littler, Naomi Crawford, Nicola Cowie, Neil Berry and Reece Hill

About this report

As part of Project Watershed and Peninsula Project implementation, the Catchment Environmental Monitoring (CEM) Programme was developed to demonstrate the long term benefits of soil conservation. To date, monitoring has been established in selected priority catchments for soil conservation in the Waipa, Lower Waikato, Upper Waikato and Coromandel management zones.

The Catchment Environmental Monitoring (CEM) programme allows the Waikato Regional Council to:

  • demonstrate the long term benefits of soil conservation and river management work programmes
  • better utilise resources and leverage opportunities to co-ordinate monitoring internally and externally (e.g. within the Waikato Regional Council, NIWA and Landcare Research)
  • integrate new monitoring requirements into existing regional monitoring networks.
Prior to the CEM programme soil conservation implementation relied on regional monitoring information being reinterpreted at a catchment scale. However, this information is often misleading because regional scale information is being applied at a finer scale (catchment scale).
This report provides CEM programme results for the 2011/2012 year. 

Read or download the report

Catchment environmental monitoring report: 2011/12 [PDF, 2.3 MB]  

Contents
  Acknowledgements i
1 Introduction 7
1.1 Background 7
1.2 Report content 7
1.3 Monitoring approach 7
1.4 Management zone boundaries 8
1.5 Monitoring information 9
2 Lower Waikato zone 11
2.1 Introduction 11
2.2 Matahuru catchment 11
2.2.1 Monitoring progress 11
2.2.2 Soil stability 11
2.2.3 Riparian characteristics 11
2.2.4 Water temperature 14
2.2.5 Photo points 15
2.2.6 Suspended sediment 16
2.2.7 Main points 17
3 Upper Waikato Zone 18
3.1 Introduction 18
3.2 Pokaiwhenua catchment 18
3.2.1 Monitoring progress 18
3.2.2 Soil stability 18
3.2.3 Riparian characteristics 18
3.2.4 Water temperature 21
3.2.5 Photo points 22
3.2.6 Stream Ecological Health 22
3.2.7 Main points 24
3.3 Mangare Catchment 25
3.3.1 Monitoring progress 25
3.3.2 Riparian characteristics 25
3.3.3 Water temperature 28
3.3.4 Photo points 29
3.3.5 Stream ecological health 29
3.3.6 Main points 31
3.4 Tahunaatara catchment 32
3.4.1 Monitoring progress 32
3.4.2 Water temperature 32
3.4.3 Photo points 33
3.4.4 Stream ecological health 33
3.4.5 Main points 35
4 Waipa zone 36
4.1 Introduction 36
4.2 Mangatutu catchment 36
4.2.1 Monitoring progress 36
4.2.2 Riparian characteristics 37
4.2.3 Water temperature 37
4.2.4 Photo points 38
4.2.5 Supsended sediment 38
4.2.6 Stream ecological health 39
4.2.7 Main points 41
4.2.8 Other monitoring 41
5 Coromandel zone 42
5.1 Introduction 42
5.2 Wharekawa catchment 42
5.2.1 Monitoring progress 42
5.2.2 Riparian characteristics 43
5.2.3 Water temperature 43
5.2.4 Photo points 45
5.2.5 Suspended sediment monitoring 45
5.2.6 Stream ecological health 46
5.2.7 Main points 48
5.2.8 Other monitoring 48
  References 49
  Appendix 1: Riparian characteristics summary 50
  Appendix 2: Macroinvertebrate Community Index (MCI) 53
  Appendix 3: Temperature results 55