Assessment of dissolved oxygen and flow dynamics in the Piako catchment / prepared by: NIWA; for: Wakato Regional Council.

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Prepared by: Elizabeth Graham, Paul Franklin, Peter Williams, Kathryn Reeve.

Includes bibliographical references.

This work was commissioned as a part of the implementation of the regional plan regarding water allocation. In order to set the water allocation limit, we need information about minimum flow requirements to maintain minimum standards of water quality and habitat for the ecosystem in the rivers. This report investigated levels of dissolved oxygen in rivers at six locations in the freshwater zone (the upper part) and the entire stretch of tidal zone (the lower part) of the Piako river.
The aim of the project was to establish the relationship between how oxygen levels in water drops as water flow rates go down during summer time. This is a piece of information that will be used to inform the policy of the minimum flow requirements at these locations to maintain the water quality and fish habitat values. Although it has implications in policy and general resource management, the information contained in this report is still very technical to be considered of “high public interest”. Further science interpretations of the information presented in this report need to be made before the information can be used in policy decisions and plan updates.