Morphum Environmental was engaged by Wairakei Estate, a company comprising 16 adjoining dairy farms located on a 25,700 hectare block of land near Taupo, to undertake ongoing freshwater monitoring of the Orakonui and Pueto Streams, which run through the Estate.

The purpose of the monitoring was to provide data to inform Wairakei Estate’s environmental planning and to evaluate the effects of the change in land-use from pine forestry to dairy production.

The monitoring involved collecting invertebrate and water quality samples from paired sites, two on the Orakonui Stream and two on the Pueto Stream, that are located upstream and downstream of farming activities within the Estate. This allowed for a direct comparison to be made between the ecological and water quality of these sites in order to evaluate any potential environmental effects of the Estate’s activities.

Wairakei Estate has a strong sustainability ethic and is actively working to implement best-practice environmental stewardship over the land that they own. Morphum Environmental is proud to have contribruted towards this project with our environmental and freshwater monitoring expertise.