Information on the quality of all New Zealand freshwater rivers and catchments is now accessible on a single website as a result of a collaboration between local government authorities and government agencies.
The Land, Air, Water, Aotearoa website www.lawa.org.nz displays information for more than 1100 freshwater monitoring sites throughout the country.
Sixteen regional councils are involved in the project.
The chair of the Wellington Regional Council and sector group, Fran Wilde, says LAWA enables people to search for information on waterways and rivers in the area they live or visit.
Regional councils measure a range of parameters when assessing water quality, such as bacteria, nitrogen, phosphorous, water clarity and acidity.
Ms Wilde says this information will be available to the public on the website.
LAWA has the backing of the Tindall Foundation, with founder Sir Stephen Tindall investing several hundred thousand dollars into the project.
Sir Stephen says a Canadian angler on the banks of the Tukituki River opened his eyes to the need for a single site with all the relevant facts.
Sir Stephen says he was looking at what appeared to be an absolutely beautiful, pristine New Zealand scene but the tourist told him he would not eat any trout he caught there because the level of pollution was so bad they would be inedible.
