Recommendations

A number of issues in water quality have been identified through the analysis of this year's data. Decreasing trends in dissolved oxygen has been recorded at some sites including the Waipoua, Kaihu and Awanui Rivers. Both the Waipoua and Kaihu rivers generally have good water quality so it is concerning to have poor dissolved oxygen results at these sites. It is therefore recommended that sampling be carried out to investigate low dissolved oxygen in these rivers during the 2011/2012 summer. Data sondes will be used to record dissolved oxygen regularly throughout the day to look at the rivers diurnal pattern.

Bacterial compliance dropped significantly at a number of RWQMN sites this year when compared to the previous year's results. These sites include the Mangamuka, Ngunguru and Waimamaku rivers. Some sites have continuously poor results and include the Kaeo River and Mangahahuru Stream (Apotu Rd). It is recommended that faecal source tracking sampling be undertaken to determine the source of bacterial pollution at these sites.