Lake Brunner

Lake Brunner is a large (41 km2), deep lake (max. depth 109 m), inland from Greymouth on the West Coast. It has high water quality and is a popular recreational destination for people within and beyond the region. It is likely that intensive agriculture in the catchment has led to nutrient increases, which have been observed following the initiation of monitoring in the early 1990’s.

Lake Brunner is the largest lake on the West Coast of the South Island. The West Coast Regional Council has two monitoring sites on the lake for collecting water quality data, and an additional three summer sites for monitoring swimming suitability. Lake Brunner currently remains in an oligotrophic (low nutrient) state, safe for swimming and other recreational activities. Since 1992, there have been deteriorating trends for a number of water quality attributes, like nutrients and clarity. Many of these trends are no longer apparent when viewed over the last ten years, except for nitrogen. . From 2001 to 2014, only nitrate and total nitrogen increased significantly in the lake, and this was also observed in some of the lakes tributaries. . Increasing nitrate is a result of increased agricultural intensity within the catchment. Dissolved nitrogen is easily leached and nitrogen from all sources will leach in abundance given the catchment’s wet climate. It should be noted that Lake Brunner is phosphorus limited so an increase in nitrate is unlikely to affect lake biology without an accompanying increase in phosphorus. Water quality in Cashmere Bay is poorer than water in the main lake. Nitrate has increased (deteriorated) in Cashmere Bay but clarity has improved. Despite long periods of low oxygen at the bottom of Cashmere Bay, phosphorus and subsequent algal blooms have not been observed.

Lake Summary

Lake size

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Scientific data for this lake

This dashboard shows information on the data collected by the regional councils and unitary authorities for two indicators of lake water quality and ecological condition: TLI (Trophic Level Index) and LakeSPI (Lake Submerged Plant Indicators). Select an indicator to see the historical results.

Water Quality

Trophic Level Index (TLI)

The TLI score is an indicator of lake health and is determined from a suite of water quality measurements.

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Trophic Level Index (TLI) history for this lake

The TLI score for a lake is calculated from four water quality measurements – chlorophyll a, total nitrogen, total phosphorus and water clarity. If water clarity is unavailable, TLI is calculated using the other three water quality measurements. A higher score indicates poorer water quality.

View a factsheet on TLI

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TLI history for Lake Brunner

Year

What do the icons mean?

Very good water quality. Trophic Level Index of 0-2. Microtrophic lake conditions.

Good water quality. Trophic Level Index of 2-3. Oligotrophic lake conditions.

Average water quality. Trophic Level Index of 3-4. Mesotrophic lake conditions.

Poor water quality. Trophic Level Index of 4-5. Eutrophic lake conditions.

Very poor water quality. Trophic Level Index of greater than 5. Supertrophic lake conditions.

No data available.

TLI history for Lake Brunner data table

Year	TLI Score

Year	TLI Score

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Ecological Conditions

Lake Submerged Plant Indicators (LakeSPI)

The LakeSPI status describes the ecological condition of the lake and is based on plants present.

LakeSPI data provided by NIWA

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LakeSPI history for this lake

LakeSPI (Lake Submerged Plant Indicators) is a method of characterising the ecological condition of lakes based on the composition of native and invasive plants growing in them. A higher LakeSPI percentage result is associated with better ecological health:

LakeSPI	N/A
LakeSPI	{{spiData.details.Value}}%

The overall LakeSPI score is calculated using a Native Condition Index ('good' plants) and an Invasive Impact Index (introduced, non-native plants):

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Invasive Impact	N/A
Invasive Impact	{{spiData.details.InvasiveIndex}}%	NA

A higher Native Condition value indicates better ecological condition, but a higher Invasive Impact value indicates invasive plants are negatively impacting native plant communities.
View a factsheet on LakeSPI for more information on these indicators.