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Featured factsheets
How is the water quality at swimming spots assessed?
Find out more
Marine algal blooms
Tips on conserving water
Swim Smart Checklist
Freshwater
Naturally occurring water on the Earth’s surface in bogs, wetlands, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers. Freshwater has low concentrations of dissolved salts (<1000 parts per million).
Lakes in New Zealand
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Glossary
A
Aeolian (dune) lake
Aerobic
Aesthetic/amenity value
Air Quality Site Status
Algae
Algal bloom
Allocation
Ammonia
Ammoniacal nitrogen
Ammonium
Amount available to consent
Annual percentage
Annual PM10
Annual PM2.5
Anoxic
Aquatic
Aquifer
Arsenic
ASPM
Attribute band
Australian-New Zealand Guidelines (ANZG)
B
Bacteria
BAM
BAM-Nephelometer
Banded Kokopu
Benthic
Benthic Health Model
Benzene
Bioaccumulate
Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)
Biodiversity
Biogenic (habitat)
Biomass
Black carbon
Black Disc
Blue-green algae
Box and Whisker Plots
Brackish
Brackish lake
Braided river
Breach
Broad land cover class
Built features
C
Cadmium (Cd)
Carbon monoxide
Catchment
Catchment Size
Chloride
Chlorophyll a
Chromium (Cr)
Citizen science
Clarity
Clarity tube
Climate change
Closed canopy
Comparing consented and used water
Concentration
Condensation
Conductivity
Confluence
Consented and measured volume
Consented as a percentage of available
Consented volume
consumptive
Contact recreation
Contaminants
Contamination
Copper (Cu)
Cross-section
Cumec
Current water level
Cyanobacteria
D
Daily PM10
Daily PM2.5
Dam
Deposited sediment
Detailed land cover class
Detection limit
Detritus
Didymo (Didymosphenia geminata)
Diffuse source discharge
Discharge
Dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN)
Dissolved oxygen (DO)
Dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP)
Distribution
DSDEs
E
1 in 10 year Exceedence
1 in 25 year Exceedence
1 in 5 year Exceedence
1 in 50 year Exceedence
E-BAM
E. coli
Ecology
Ecosystem
Ecosystem function
Ecosystem resilience
Ecosystem services
Ecotoxicity
Effects Range Low (ERL)
Effluent
Electrical conductivity
Emission
Endemic
Enterococci
Environmental indicator
Environmental reporting
Environmental Response Criteria (ERC)
Environmental values
Epilimnion
EPT
Erosion
Erosion control
Erosion susceptibility
Escherichia coli
Estuary
Estuary habitat diversity
Estuary macrofauna
Estuary macrofauna score
Eutrophic
Eutrophication
Evaporation
Evapotranspiration
Exceedance
Exotic
Exotic land cover
F
Faecal Indicators
Faecal matter
Fidas
Filamentous algae
Flood
Floodplain
Flow
Flow adjustment
Flow regime
Food web
Fossil fuel
Freshwater
Freshwater objectives
G
Geographic Information System (GIS)
Geomorphic lake type
Geothermal lake
Giant Kokopu
Glacial lake
Groundwater
Guideline
H
Habitat
Hapū
Healthy estuaries
Heavy metal(s)
High volume sampler
Highest flow ever recorded
Home heating sources of air pollution
Human pressure
Hydrocarbons
Hydrology
Hydrosystem
Hypolimnion
Hyporheic zone
I
ICOLL
Inanga
Indeterminate trend
Indicators
Indigenous land-cover
Indigenous species
Indoor sources of air pollution
Industrial sources of air pollution
Inorganic matter
Internal loading
Intertidal
Introduced species
Invasive Impact Index
Invasive species
Invertebrate
Irrigation
Iwi
K
Kaitiaki
Kaitiakitanga
Kaumātua
Koaro
L
Lake Level
Lake Size
Lake Submerged Plant Indicators
LakeSPI
Land cover
Land cover classes
Land Cover Database (LCDB)
Land use
Landscapes
Landslide lake
Leaching
Lead (Pb)
Limit
Liquid waste
Live flow
Load
Longfin Eel
Lowest flow ever recorded
M
1-Day MALF
7-day MALF
Macroinvertebrate Community Index (MCI)
Macroinvertebrates
Macrophytes
Mahinga kai
main stem
Mana
Mātauranga Māori
Mauri
Maximum Depth
Mean annual low flow (MALF)
Median
Median annual flow
Medium land cover class
Mercury (Hg)
Mesotrophic
Micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3)
Microtrophic
Milligrams per cubic metre (mg/m3)
Mixing pattern
Model/modelling
Monitoring
Monitoring network
Monitoring site
Monthly median (rainfall)
Mud content
N
National Ambient Air Quality Guidelines (2002)
National bottom line
National Environmental Monitoring Standards
National Environmental Standards
National Environmental Standards for Air Quality (NES-AQ)
National Objectives Framework (NOF)
National Policy Statement (NPS)
National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPS-FM 2020)
National River Water Quality Network (NRWQN)
Native
Native Condition Index
Natural features
Natural sources of air pollution
Nickel (Ni)
Nitrate nitrogen (nitrate)
Nitrified
Nitrite nitrogen
Nitrogen
Nitrogen dioxide
Non-point source discharge
NTU
Nuisance weed
Nutrient
Nutrient run-off
O
Objective
OECD
Oligotrophic
Optical sampler
Organic contaminants
Organic matter
Organic pollution
Outdoor burning sources of air pollution
Oxygen
Ozone
P
Parameter
Particulate matter
Partisol
Passive sampling
Pathogen
Peat lake
Percentage of mean level (bore)
Percentage of median (rainfall)
Percentage of time exceeded
Percentile
Periphyton
Pesticides
pH
Phosphorus
Photosynthesis
Phycocyanin
Phytoplankton
Plankton
PM
PM10
PM10 exceedances (last year)
PM10 exceedances (year to date)
PM2.5
PM2.5 exceedances (last year)
PM2.5 exceedances (year to date)
Point-source discharge
Pollutant
Pollution
Polymictic
Population
Pressure
Primary Production
Probable Effects Level (PEL)
Q
QMCI
Quartile
R
Rain in previous month
Rainfall annual total
Rainfall last 12 months
Rainfall last 24 hours
Rainfall last 7 days
Rainfall last month
Rainfall this month
Reach
Recreational water quality
Regional councils
Relative breakdown
Relative Volume
Remote sensing
Residence time
Resilience
Resource consent
Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA)
Respiration
Riparian
Riparian planting
River Environment Classification (REC)
Riverine lake
Run off to sea
Run-off
S
Screening method
Secchi disc
Sediment
Sedimentation
Semi-quantitative Macroinvertebrate Community Index (SQMCI)
Shoreline lake
Shortfin Eel
SIDEs
Silver (Ag)
Spawning
SSRTREs
Standard method
State
State and Trend
State of the Environment (SOE) monitoring
State of the Environment (SOE) reporting
Stock exclusion
Stormwater
Stratified (stratify)
Stream order
Stressor
Sulphur dioxide
Summer Season Monitoring
Supertrophic
Surface water
Suspended fine sediment
Suspended sediment
T
T640x
Tangata whenua
Taonga
Taxa Richness
Taxon
Te Mana o te Wai
Te Uru Kahika - Regional and Unitary Councils Aotearoa
Tectonic lake
Telemetry
Temperature inversion
TEOM
TEOM-FDMS
Territorial authority
Thermocline (or metalimnion)
Threats to estuaries
Threshold Effects Level (TEL)
Total DDT
Total Nitrogen (TN)
Total Oxidised Nitrogen (TON)
Total PAH
Total Phosphorus (TP)
Toxic
Toxic algae
Traffic sources of air pollution
Trend
Tributaries
Trophic Level Index
Tūpuna
Turbidity
U
Understory vegetation
Unhealthy estuaries
Unitary authorities
V
Variable
Visual Clarity
Volatile organic compound
Volcanic lake
Volume Consented Used
W
Wadeable
Wāhi tapu
Wastewater
Water body
Water clarity
Water column
Water Management Zone
Water quality
Water resources
Water take(s)
Water temperature
Waterway length
Weather conditions
Weed
Wetland
Wetland area (Nationally Important Wetlands)
Wetland protection
Wetlands
Whānau
Winter day percentage
Woody vegetation
World Health Organization Air Quality Guidelines
Z
Zinc (Zn)
Zooplankton