Tasman region

Tasman's waterways provide valued places for swimming, boating and other recreation, a home for aquatic plants and animals, a source of food, water for drinking, hydroelectricity, and irrigation for horticulture and agriculture.

The main threats to water quality are the intensification of agriculture and the growth in population. The council monitors 26 river sites across the district and works with the community and industry to ensure we have a sustainable resource for the future. Some of our rivers and streams have changed dramatically since European settlement. These have been dammed, had water pumped out or diverted, waste discharged into them, or invasive plants introduced. The land draining into these rivers (their catchment area) has been cleared for agriculture, forestry and urban development. These activities all increase the amount of runoff entering rivers and streams.

Many of the district’s rivers and streams are probably in better condition now than they were half a century ago, but they continue to be affected by pollution from a variety of sources, including runoff and leaching from agricultural land, stormwater and industrial discharges.