WETLAND MONITORING - TUKIPO
SUMMARY
TLC is funding 24 months of independent water monitoring at a 1.6ha constructed wetland in Ashley Clinton.
The monitoring is helping measure the wetland’s effectiveness in reducing farm runoff and improving biodiversity.
For comparison, TLC is also monitoring a nearby smaller wetland, with side-by-side results offering valuable insights into the performance of wetlands at different scales. The results are shared below to support others considering similar wetland projects.
BACKGROUND
Funded by Fonterra and Hawke’s Bay Regional Council in partnership with the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) and the Tukipo Catchment Care Group (TCCG), the White Wetland aims to improve water quality and biodiversity in the catchment while also providing scientists with valuable data on how effective constructed wetlands are in removing nitrogen and other contaminants from farm runoff.
The site, once a marginal paddock generously set aside by the White family of Ashley Clinton, now features a thriving wetland with 24,000 native plants, adjacent to a seven-hectare remnant bush teeming with biodiversity.
Using NIWA’s innovative modular design, the wetland captures and treats water from around 180 hectares of the catchment. It features a series of cells that hold water for specific periods, allowing natural bacterial processes to reduce nitrogen and other contaminants from farm runoff.
A shallow planted zone occupies 50 - 60 percent of the wetland, with deep open-water zones at the inlets and outlets of each cell to disperse inflows and re-collect outflows before they pass to the next cell. A high flow bypass channel routes storm flows around the wetland to the main waterway downstream of the wetland outlet.
WATER MONITORING RESULTS
SUMMARY REPORT
DECEMBER 2024 - JANUARY 2026
This report presents data from the Tukipo White Wetland and the smaller Severinsen Road Wetland. It examines key water quality indicators, including Escherichia coli (E. coli), nitrate and nitrite nitrogen (NO₃ + NO₂-N), ammonia (NH₄-N), nitrate (NO₃-N), nitrite (NO₂-N), and dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP).
WITH THANKS
-
The White Family
-
Water Sense
-
The Tukipo Catchment Care Group
-
Hawke's Bay Regional Council
FURTHER INFORMATION & CONTACT
To find out more about the Tukipo sub-catchment, head to the Tukipo sub-catchment page on this site.
To get in touch, please contact TLC Catchment Lead Michelle Goodman:
Email: tukitukilandcare@gmail.com
Phone: 027 474 9998