Two Canterbury rivers – the Otukaikino and Cam – took out 1st and 3rd place in the 2014 New Zealand River Awards for the most improved rivers in the country. The Oroua River in the Manawatu was the 2nd most improved river in New Zealand.
“The improvement in all three rivers has been driven mainly by better sewage treatment”, said to Andrew Gawith from the Morgan Foundation. “It’s a case of towns taking more responsibility for water quality in their local rivers.”
Landowners and community groups have also played a part in the improvement with riparian fencing and planting of waterways and wetlands, and also planting of erosion-prone hill country in the case of the Oroua catchment.
For more information about the regional winners please click on the source link below.
Source: http://nzriverawards.org.nz/2014-new-zealand-river-awards/
NZ River Story Award Winners
The Award winning story is about one man, Bill Kerrison, who has worked tirelessly for more than 20 years trapping and transferring eels and other native fish species past the dams on the Rangitaiki River in the Bay of Plenty.
Runner up – Amazing work by landcare group protecting our rivers
One of the finalists in the River Story Awards, the Rangitata Gorge Landcare Group, is a farming community that has taking on a war against pest plants that threaten their grand, braided, glorious river in Canterbury. Check out their story.