Freshwater quality data from rivers all over New Zealand have been brought together in one place with a simple, user-friendly website.
The Land, Air, Water Aotearoa (LAWA) website, launched in Wellington this week, is a collaboration between New Zealand’s 16 regional and unitary councils, the Ministry for the Environment (MFE), Cawthron Institute and Massey University.
Users can zoom in on any one of the 1100 plus monitoring sites and see simplified data and trends reflecting the quality of the water. The website allows users to see how a site on a river compares to similar sites around the country and, importantly, tells you if the water quality is improving or not. Measurements such as water clarity, pH and nutrient load are easily accessed through the simple interface, designed by the Open Lab studio at Massey University.
The website has been highlighted in the media. Examples include:
Radio New Zealand: New website on water quality
Timaru Herald: Lowdown on quality of water in lakes, rivers
Southland Times: Water website gives clear story on rivers
3 News: Website gives updates on water cleanliness
MSN NZ News: Freshwater website goes live
New Zealand Herald: Sam Judd: For the love of the land, air and water
Press releases regarding LAWA have also been issued from: Environment Southland, Horizons Regional Council, Otago regional Council, Gisborne District Council, Waikato Regional Council and Local Government NZ