Wairua River/Te awa o Wairua

Wairua River/Te awa o Wairua

About the area/Mō te wāhi

Located at the top of the Kaipara Harbour catchment, the 75,000 hectare Wairua River catchment includes the 13,000 hectare Hikurangi floodplain, which contains the 5,600 hectare Hikurangi Swamp Scheme. Once a giant wetland, the floodplain has been largely drained and developed for agriculture, forestry, horticulture, and lifestyle blocks.

A biodiversity hotspot, the floodplain is characterised by two large wetlands (Otakairangi and Wairua), as well as dozens of small, isolated and fragmented wetland and riparian forest remnants. It also includes a very important tuna (freshwater eel) fishery.

The Wairua River flows into the Wairoa River and then into the Kaipara Harbour. The Kaipara Harbour is the largest enclosed harbour in the Southern Hemisphere, and the second largest harbour in the world. It is also known as the ‘food basket’ of local iwi and hapū in the area. The harbour has long been recognised as an extremely important nursery for juvenile fish and sharks, particularly snapper, grey mullet, flounder and mako and great white sharks.

The challenge/Te wero

In Wairua there has been a significant loss of wetland and freshwater ecosystems. Water quality is degraded due to high levels of suspended sediment. Much of this has been caused by various productive land uses in the catchment and modification of the waterway, wetland and peat soil hydrology for drainage purposes.

Living Water’s key focus is on reducing sediment loads into the Wairua River by using solutions that improve hydrologic functioning and ecological resilience of the catchment.

  • 75,000ha total catchment area
  • 4 main types of farming (dairy, horticulture, arable, forestry)
  • Fonterra dairy farms make up 36% of the catchment
  • 5,300ha total Okarika sub-catchment area
Cows crossing road

Wairua River catchment

Projects in Progress

Detention Bunds

Detention Bund Trial

Determining whether detention bunds can effectively manage peak run off and reduce sediment in Northland

Low cost wetlands

Low cost wetlands

Creating wetlands in wet areas on-farm can provide biodiversity benefits while also reducing flooding, erosion, and improving water quality.

Ecosystem Services

Ecosystem Services

Testing the usefulness of taking an ecosystems services approach for project planning

Our team/Tō mātou rōpū

Anh Nguyen

Anh Nguyen

DOC Site Lead Wairua, Northland
George Kruger

George Kruger

Fonterra Sustainable Dairying Advisor
Katie Collins

Katie Collins

DOC Freshwater Science Lead
Sue Reed-Thomas

Sue Reed-Thomas

DOC Operations Director, Northern North Island
Mike Borrie

Mike Borrie

Fonterra Head of Farm Source (Northland)

Our farmers/Ō mātou kaiahuwhenua

Graeme & Sharon Gillett

Graeme & Sharon Gillett

Jenny Vuglar

Jenny Vuglar

Are you part of Living Water?

Are you part of Living Water?

Contact us to have your farm acknowledged and your photo added

Our partners & friends/Ō mātou hoa ngātahi, ō mātou hoa

Duncan Kervell

Duncan Kervell

Northland Regional Council
Hori Kingi

Hori Kingi

Ngā Kaitiaki O Ngā Wai Māori
Chantez Connor

Chantez Connor

Ngā Kaitiaki O Ngā Wai Māori
Helen Moodie

Helen Moodie

DairyNZ
Willie Wright

Willie Wright

Integrated Kaipara Harbour Management Group
Andrew Carvell

Andrew Carvell

Whangarei District Council
Nan Pullman

Nan Pullman

QEII Trust
Eamon Nathan

Eamon Nathan

Reconnecting Northland
Bev Clarkson

Bev Clarkson

Landcare Research
Rudi Hoetjes

Rudi Hoetjes

Fish and Game, Northland
Souzee McIntyre

Souzee McIntyre

Whitebait Connection
Kim Jones

Kim Jones

Whitebait Connection
Terence Brocx

Terence Brocx

Chair of the Northland Dairy Development Trust
Chris Frost

Chris Frost

Opus

Supporting documents/Ngā tuhinga tautoko