Twenty years ago this month the UN affirmed that water is a human right – can this help resolve the political stand-off over New Zealand’s Three Waters reforms?
Climate change is colliding with old factory sites where soil or water contamination still exist, and the most vulnerable populations are particularly at risk.
Mike Joy, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
A new study of dairying in Canterbury shows previous estimates vastly underestimate the impact of intensive farming. A 12-fold reduction in cow numbers could be needed to meet safe water standards.
Covering the state’s canals with solar panels would reduce evaporation of precious water and help meet renewable energy goals – all while saving money.
Rivers are among the most embattled ecosystems on Earth. Researchers are testing a new, inexpensive way to study river health by using eDNA to count the species that rivers harbor.
Debra Perrone, University of California, Santa Barbara and Scott Jasechko, University of California, Santa Barbara
The US has one of the highest groundwater use rates in the world. When wells run dry, households may opt to conserve water, find new sources or sell and move.
Nicolas Pirsoul, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau and Maria Armoudian, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
New Zealanders pay the costs of poor environmental and infrastructural governance, but have little opportunity to influence policy in the first place. Here’s how that could change.
New Zealand spends about $500m on environmental research each year, but fails to invest systematically in monitoring programmes to track the changing environment.
Mike Joy, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
A long-awaited NZ$700 million package to clean up New Zealand’s rivers and lakes has disappointed some of the government’s expert advisers – especially a delay on setting clear pollution limits.
A new report on New Zealand’s lakes and rivers confirms that many freshwater ecosystems are in decline and warns that climate change will exacerbate existing threats.
If you want to swim in the Yarra River, you can check the water quality to see if it’s safe. If you want to swim in the Nepean River, you can’t – and that’s a problem.
Damage to water supply infrastructure and catchments during and after bushfires inhibits the treatment processes that normally make our water safe to drink.
Mike Joy, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
The New Zealand government’s decision to partner the farming sector to encourage voluntary reductions in farm emissions failed to acknowledge that agricultural emissions also affect water quality.
Few feel the pain of the Great Barrier Reef’s decline more acutely than the scientists trying to save it. Ahead of a UN climate summit, two researchers write of their grief, and hope.
We all know that climate change is hurting the Great Barrier Reef. But scores of other less-publicised threats also threaten the future of the natural wonder.