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Managing our Environment

Lakes, Rivers, and Streams

Everyone wants lakes, rivers and streams that are safe to swim in, gather food from, and that support healthy ecosystems.

 

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Issues for lakes, rivers and streams in Otago

What ORC is doing to protect lakes, rivers and streams

What is being done nationally to protect lakes rivers and streams

 

 

Issues for lakes, rivers and streams in Otago

Water quality and levels are determined by a number of natural factors, such as rainfall, but are also influenced by human activities such as run-off from construction sites, industry, forestry, tourism and farming.

Water quality in rivers across Otago show a clear spatial pattern related to land cover and land use. Water quality is best at river and stream reaches located in high or mountainous areas with predominantly native vegetation cover. These sites tend to be associated with the upper catchments of larger rivers (for example, Clutha River/Matau‐Au, Taieri River and Lindis River) and the outlets from large lakes (for example, Hawea, Wakatipu and Wanaka). Water quality is generally poorer at sites located on smaller, low-elevation streams that drain pastoral or urban catchments.

 

What ORC is doing to protect lakes, rivers and streams

ORC's environmental monitoring team test water monthly to check its quality. The results are recorded and added to State of the Environment reports (SOE) which can be found here. SOE monitoring results are based on five years' of data taken when the flow site was at or below median flow. 

Like all regional councils, ORC provides SOE information to Land Air Water Aotearoa (LAWA) to add to their national database. Check Otago results here. Note that the LAWA site also has information during summer months about water quality of popular swimming spots in the region. This is collected weekly, and is different from SOE data, which gives a longer-term view of water quality.

Our current water plan includes rules that are designed to give farmers, foresters and other rural landholders the freedom to skilfully manage their land to ensure good water quality in Otago waterways. This water plan is now under review - read about upcoming water plan changes that will provide further protection to Otago waterways here.

Read more about water quality targets

  

What is being done nationally to protect lakes rivers and streams

The government is committed to stopping further degradation and to restore our waterways to a healthy state within a generation. As part of this commitment, in August 2020, the “Action for Healthy Waterways” reform package was announced.

The healthy waterways reform package includes:

  • New National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPS-FM 2020), replacing the current NPS-FM 2014
  • New National Environmental Standards for Freshwater (NESFW)
  • New stock exclusion regulations under section 360 of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA)
  • Amendment to the Resource Management (Measurement and Reporting of Water Takes) Regulations 2010; and
  • Changes to the Resource Management Act 1991 to require freshwater modules in farm plans in the future.

Some of the new rules and regulations apply now, while there is a longer timeframe for others.

Learn more about the new water rules and regulations here.

 

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