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Catchment Environmental Monitoring Report: 2007/08

TR 2008/28
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Report: TR 2008/28

Authors: Sally Grant, Claire Kotze and Reece Hill

Abstract

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

The Catchment Environmental Monitoring (CEM) Programme allows Environment Waikato 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 Environment Waikato, NIWA, Landcare Research)
  • integrate new monitoring requirements into existing regional monitoring networks.

Prior to the CEM programme soil conservation implementation relied on regional monitoring information reinterpreted at a catchment scale. However, this approach often provides misleading information because regional scale information is being applied at a finer scale (catchment scale).

This report provides CEM programme results for the 2007/2008 year. The report is the second since the implementation of the CEM Programme in 2002 (see Hill et al. 2006).

Catchment Environmental Monitoring Report: 2007/08 [PDF, 562 KB]

Catchment Environmental Monitoring Report: 2007/08 - Appendices Part A [PDF, 1.1 MB]

Catchment Environmental Monitoring Report: 2007/08 - Appendices Part B [PDF, 744 KB]

Contents
1  Introduction 1           
1.1 Background 1
1.2 Report Content 1
1.3 Monitoring approach 1
1.4 Management zone boundaries 2
1.5 Monitoring information 4
1.6 Monitoring Methods and Indicators 6
  Soil Stability 6
  Riparian Characteristics 6
  Photo Points 7
  Water Temperature 7
  Suspended Sediment Monitoring 7
  Stream Ecological Monitoring 8
2 Lower Waikato zone 9
2.1 Introduction 9
2.2 Matahuru catchment 9
2.2.1 Monitoring progress 9
2.2.2 Soil stability 10
2.2.3 Riparian characteristics 11
2.2.4 Water temperature 13
2.2.5 Photo points 14
2.2.6 Suspended sediment 14
2.2.7 Main points 16
3 Upper Waikato zone 17
3.1 Introduction 17
3.2 Pokaiwhenua catchment 17
3.2.1 Monitoring progress 17
3.2.2 Soil stability 18
3.2.3 Riparian characteristics 19
3.2.4 Water temperature 21
3.2.5 Photo points 21
3.2.6 Stream ecological health 22
3.2.7 Main points 23
3.3 Mangare catchment 24
3.3.1 Monitoring progress 24
3.3.2 Riparian characteristics 25
3.3.3 Water temperature 28
3.3.4 Photo points 28
3.3.5 Stream ecological health 29
3.3.6 Main points 30
3.4 Tahunaatara catchment 31
3.4.1 Monitoring progress 31
3.4.2 Water temperature 32
3.4.3 Photo points 33
3.4.4 Stream ecological health 33
3.4.5 Main points 34
4 Waipa Zone 35
4.1 Introduction 35
4.2 Mangatutu catchment 35
4.2.1 Monitoring progress 35
4.2.2 Riparian characteristics 36
4.2.3 Water temperature 39
4.2.4 Photo points 40
4.2.5 Suspended sediment 40
4.2.6 Stream ecological health 41
4.2.7 Main points 42
4.2.8 Other monitoring 42
5 Coromandel zone 43
5.1 Introduction 43
5.2 Wharekawa catchment 43
5.2.1 Monitoring progress 43
5.2.2 Riparian characteristics 44
5.2.3 Water temperature 47
5.2.4 Photo points 47
5.2.5 Suspended sediment monitoring 48
5.2.6 Stream ecological health 48
5.2.7 Main points 49
5.3 Other monitoring 49
References   50 
Appendix 1: Catchment Characteristics 51
Appendix 2: Guidelines and standards used to assess river water quality for ecological health and contact recreation 58
Appendix 3: Riparian characteristics summary 59
Appendix 4: Photo points 64