The Otago Regional Council will seek to keep important freshwater monitoring sites going if Niwa discontinues them. Niwa had reviewed its monitoring operations and was making changes to enable its ''expertise and capabilities'' to be used to the country's ''best advantage'', Niwa general manager strategy Dr Bryce Cooper said.
Niwa was consulting with the Ministry of Environment and regional councils to ''ensure consistent and state-of-the-art freshwater monitoring across New Zealand'' which would mean fewer sites monitored but to higher standards.
It has 50 hydrometric (river flow/level) stations in Otago and eight water quality monitoring sites.
- rebecca.fox@odt.co.nz
