Glossary

Plan Change Tuatahi: Plan Change Tuatahi (the first plan change) is an amendment to the proposed Southland Water and Land Plan to include freshwater objectives/outcomes, limits and targets developed through the community and council process. It must also include policies and methods to achieve those limits, in accordance with the NPS-FM. This plan change will be notified by late 2024.
Mahinga kai: Mahinga kai/mahika kai is a term that literally means 'to work the food'. It relates to the traditional value of food resources and their ecosystems, as well as the practices involved in producing, procuring, and protecting these resources.
Ki uta ki tai: ‘Ki uta ki tai’ or ‘mountains to the sea’ captures the need to recognise and manage the interconnectedness of the whole environment. Southland is made up of four major river catchments and what happens on land or in our waterways can affect the river upstream as well as the river and estuary downstream.
Hauora: Hauora means a state of health that could be described as fit and well. It reflects a level of healthy resilience we all want for our waterways. In other words, a waterway can take a knock and bounce back and still provide for uses that support people’s health.
Te Mana o te Wai: Te Mana o te Wai is an important concept for how water is managed and utilised in New Zealand and refers to the vital importance of water. Te Mana o te Wai recognises the fundamental role healthy water plays in protecting the health and well-being of the wider environment. It is an approach that protects the Mauri (life-force) of the water.
NPS-FM: The National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPS-FM) provides direction about how local authorities should carry out their responsibilities under the Resource Management Act 1991 for managing fresh water. It’s particularly important for regional councils, as it directs them to consider specific matters and to meet certain requirements when they are developing regional plans for fresh water. The NPS-FM came into effect on 1 August 2014.
Visual clarity: Water clarity and underwater visibility is important for recreation such as swimming. It is also important from an aesthetic point of view – most people prefer to see clear water in our rivers and streams.
Turbidity: A measure of the murkiness of water, reflecting the amount of suspended sediment in the water. High turbidity reduces the amount of light available to the plants and animals living in the water. It reduces the ability of plants to photosynthesise. It also makes it difficult for fish and other animals to see their prey. Turbidity should be less than 5 NTU (turbidity measurement scale) for water to support plant growth.
Phosphorus: Phosphorus is a nutrient that can encourage the growth of nuisance aquatic plants. These plants can choke up waterways and out-compete native species. High levels of phosphorus in water can be a result of runoff from agricultural land. Ideally, total phosphorus levels in water should be less than 0.04 grams per cubic metre to prevent excessive growth of nuisance plants.
pH: A measure of the acidity or alkalinity of water. A very high or very low pH means that water can be unsuitable for aquatic life. The pH range that is suitable for aquatic plants and animals is 6.5 to 9.
Periphyton: A complex mixture of algae, cyanobacteria, microbes and detritus that’s attached to submerged surfaces (such as rocks) in most aquatic ecosystems. Periphyton plays an important role by being a food source for invertebrates and some fish. However, too much periphyton can smother the benthic environment, making it unsuitable as a habitat for many macroinvertebrates.
Nitrogen: Nitrogen is a nutrient that can encourage the growth of nuisance aquatic plants. These plants can choke up waterways and out-compete native species. High levels of nitrogen in water can be a result of runoff and leaching from agricultural land. Ideally, total nitrogen levels in water should be less than 0.5 grams per cubic metre to prevent excessive growth of nuisance plants.
Macroinvertebrates: An invertebrate that is large enough to be seen with the naked eye (without a microscope). For example, insect larvae, worms, snails.
Limits: The NPS-FM defines a limit as “the maximum amount of resource use available, which allows a freshwater objective to be met”. For example, limits on the total amount of water that can be taken out of a freshwater body, or the amount of contaminants that can be discharged into it without compromising the desired outcomes.
Invertebrate: An animal without a backbone (vertebrae). For example, insects and crustaceans, such as crabs.
Indigenous vegetation: Vegetation that is naturally found in an area (without human aid or being spread there by people).
Freshwater objectives: The intended environmental outcomes for a water body that will provide for the values that are important to the community.
E. coli: (Escherichia coli) A type of bacteria commonly found in the gut of warm-blooded animals, such as birds and mammals (including people, cows and sheep). It is used to indicate the presence of faecal contamination in waterways, which can be harmful to people and stock.
Ecosystem: A community of living organisms (plants, animals and micro-organisms), and the non-living components of their environment (things like air, water and mineral soil), which interact together as a system.
Dissolved oxygen: The concentration of oxygen dissolved in water, expressed in mg/l or as per cent saturation. (Saturation is the maximum amount of oxygen that can theoretically be dissolved in water at a given altitude and temperature.)
Benthic: an organism (plant or animal) that lives on the bottom sediments (e.g. mud, sand or gravel) of a water body such as a river, lake or estuary.
Biodiversity: Short for biological diversity – the variety of life on Earth. At a local level it includes the variation of life in an ecosystem, including all the plants, animals and micro-organisms.