What Impacts Interest You?

Different land uses and point source discharges can cause a variety of environmental impacts on water quality and mahinga kai.

Chemical Contamination

Chemical contaminants are chemicals toxic to plants and animals in waterways.

Dissolved oxygen (DO) is a relative measure of the amount of oxygen (O₂) dissolved in water.

Waterways can easily become contaminated by pathogens when effluent is discharged nearby.

Instream barriers and diversions alter the natural flow of rivers, streams, and lakes.

Plants and trees along the water margins and banks are called riparian vegetation.

A habitat is an environment or place where animals normally live.

Nutrients in waterways are essential for the growth of algae and aquatic plants but too much can destroy an ecosystem.

When soils erode, sediments are washed into waterways.

Temperature affects the number and type of animals and plants that live in a waterway.

Water clarity or turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness in a fluid caused by individual small particles (suspended solids).