There would once have been numerous streams wending their way across the central Tāmaki Makaurau. In some areas, rainfall would soak directly into the ground to charge aquifers which emerged through springs alongside basalt lava flows from the various maunga. Elsewhere, surface water created Cabbage Tree Swamp, which dried out in summer but, until drained, was barely passable for five months of the year.
Surface streams were important water sources for Māori and early European settlers, but throughout the late-nineteenth and twentieth centuries most of these streams were seen as dumping grounds or obstacles in the way of progess. These now run unloved through culverts under roads and houses. Seven significant streams remain on Auckland’s central isthmus. All of them are significantly degraded and that’s something we want to change.
discuss work of Whitebait Connection and water quality monitoring
Rodents are known to feed on whitebait eggs, but the main issue by far facing fish populations in suburban area are pollution, sedimentation and habitat loss.
Friends of Oakly Creek Te Auaunga test the water quality of Te Auaunga four times per year. You can check out the
Maybe mention something about the species found in our streams. longfin and shortfin eels