We can't live without fresh water and neither can the plants, fish, insects, and other wildlife that rely on clean water to survive and thrive. But our rivers and lakes are in crisis.
Water is one of the most important issues for New Zealanders and yet our waterways are in crisis.
Our rivers, lakes, and streams are being polluted and too much water is being taken from them. The major driver of our freshwater crisis is intensive agriculture.
The situation is being made worse by climate change and increasing droughts, which reduce river flows and mean pollution is more concentrated.
For local communities, this means our favourite swimming holes are increasingly unsafe due to high bacterial levels, or toxic algal blooms.
But for our freshwater fish, insects and plants, their very survival is under threat.
We can't live without fresh water and neither can the fish, birds, insects and plants that rely on clean water to survive and thrive.
Almost 33 percent of our freshwater plants, 76 percent of our freshwater fish, and more than 25 percent of our freshwater invertebrates are threatened with, or at risk of, extinction. Many of our native birds depend on freshwater environments and 66 percent of these were classified as threatened or at risk in 2016.
Adult giant kōkopu, one of the six whitebait species. Credit - Rod Morris
As wetlands are drained and streams are dried up, the species that rely on freshwater have fewer places to live. Increased leaching and run-off from agriculture, which feeds algal blooms is making many of our rivers and lakes toxic and stripping the oxygen that our freshwater species need to survive.
We need your help. Join our fight for fresh water.
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