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E. Coli results summary for 2021-22 as a donut.

E. Coli monitoring

Every summer from 1 November to 30 April Horizons Regional Council monitors the water at the Waikawa Beach footbridge for E. Coli, and just offshore for Enterococci. They also keep an eye out for potentially toxic algae (cyanobacteria). While the water by the footbridge is suitable for swimming only 46% of the time (a historical average), we don't seem to…

Map, naming the lakes on Reay Mackay Grove.

Lake Puna-O-Te-Ora and its birds

Most people know there are two small lakes at the corner of Strathnaver Drive and Reay Mackay Grove. The lakes are a haven for birdlife (and anyone who wants a quiet few moments for reflection) and attract a rich diversity of frogs, insects and many birds, including some that regularly take refuge from a busy beach. Birds regularly include white-faced…

Book cover: Life in the Shallows The wetlands of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Life in the Shallows book

I recently became aware of a new publication — Life in the Shallows The wetlands of Aotearoa New Zealand by Karen Denyer and Monica Peters: Featuring wetlands to visit all around the country, descriptions of the rich bird, insect and plant life that can be found there, and some of the innovative ways we can protect and restore them, Life…

Screenshot of the septic tank process.

How a Septic System Works

Like most or all properties at Waikawa Beach we have a septic tank. Waste water disappears into it and that’s that (except for getting it regularly serviced, and triggering the pump manually if it gets stuck). Hmmm, a bunch of black domes, and a white box with a red light on it… But what’s actually going on down there? The…

Cover of the report.

2015 report on water quality in the Waikawa Stream

In 2015 Horizons Regional Council produced a report on water quality in the Waikawa Stream: “Waikawa Stream and Manakau Stream Faecal Source Tracking Report”, August 2015, Horizons Report 2015/EXT/1460, authored by Michael Patterson, Research Associate and Logan Brown, Senior Scientist. The data was gathered during the period December 2014 to April 2015 but since then a lot of work such…

Horizons Regional Council vehicle.

River nutrient study update, July 2022

On 04 April 2022 I wrote River nutrient study. Recently I followed up about results. David Brown, with a Horizons Regional Council email address, replied: Sorry for the delay getting back to you, I had been trying to find out some more information. What I can report is that a large amount of data was collected for this project including:…