Working with Local Iwi
“Helping Iwi to monitor water quality and protect the health and well-being of Aotearoa’s waters.”
Te Mana o te Wai
The vital importance of water, is fundamental for managing freshwater. The waterways are connected to a sense of identity, as we are connected to water and the natural world through whakapapa.
Te Mana o te Wai is integrated with the health and well-being of our waters, from the mountains to the seas.
The degradation and threat of extinction of our waterways are significant. To protect the health and well-being of our Iwi and community means protecting the health and well-being of our freshwater.
The Te Mana o te Wai hierarchy of obligations:
Health and Wellbeing
Protect the health and wellbeing of the waters.
Essential Human Needs
Provide for essential human needs, like healthy drinking water.
Recreational Use
Enable other uses of the water.
Health and Wellbeing
Protect the health and wellbeing of the waters.
A Step in the Right Direction for Improving Water Quality
Real-time water quality monitoring is a step in the right direction to improving water quality. With IoT connectivity, the five sensor Waka water quality monitor provides predictions and insights on a river’s respiration, ecological thresholds, mahinga kai values and overall health trends.
The data collected from the RiverWatch water quality monitor provides a wireframe of information about the quality of our rivers, lakes and streams. Having this information available in real-time equips local Iwi with understanding the water and protecting our waterways for the generations to come.
RiverWatch is enabling everyone to participate in stewardship and kaitiakitanga (guardianship) of our water.
