Southland region

Much of the Waikaia Valley is in native beech forest with the land being administered by the Department of Conservation. In its middle and lower reaches below Piano Flat, the Waikaia River meanders across its floodplain until its confluence with the Mataura River, near Riversdale. The surrounding land in this area is productive farmland. In recent years, irrigation of farmland in this area has become increasingly popular, with an associated change in land use to dairy farming. The Waikaia River and its tributaries provide people with many recreational opportunities. Aside from gold mining, the rivers and streams in this zone also provide ideal bathing spots for holiday makers in the summertime. Large numbers of anglers also fish the streams in this area, which support healthy brown trout fisheries. Environment Southland has a large network of automatic climate and water level recorder stations within the Waikaia surface water zone. Currently, there are few surface water abstractions from within the Waikaia surface water zone. As such, water allocation levels are low. As the Waikaia River is the main tributary of the Mataura River, it too is governed by the Mataura River Conservation Order, which acts to limit the amount of water able to be allocated.