In 2021 Whitebait Connection Programme Coordinator Rosie worked with year 9 students from Bay of Islands College. Their programme included a field trip to the Waiomio Stream for water testing.
The Waiomio Stream flows into the Kawakawa River which then flows out into the Waikare Inlet, at the bottom of the catchment. Waiomio Stream starts in Ruapekapeka, at the top of the catchment. The catchment land use is mainly farmland and urban housing.
Here are the results from the students testing:
- Habitat Assessment - The students noticed that there was no shade over most of the waterway, and there was quite severe erosion from the neighbouring farmland. Although the instream habitat had riffles, runs and deep pools, which would support various water bugs and fish species living here.
- Electrical Conductivity - 190-220 µS/cm
- Temperature - 12.5 degrees celsius
- pH - 7
- Clarity - 83 cm
- Niitrate - <0.05 mg/L
- Phosphate 1.44 mg/L (Ideal Phosphate levels are <0.02 mg/L and a trigger value is anything >0.8 mg/L). The levels could have been raised as the verges were being sprayed with roundup the day before testing occurred.
- Macroinvertebrates - Damselfly nymph, dragonfly nymph, woody cased caddisfly, freshwater shrimp, water boatmen, mites, snails and beetle larvae
- Fish - the only fish caught were the pest fish gambusia
