The Water Resources Archive is a national repository for freshwater time series data. It consists of two national networks and databases for water quality and water quantity. Types of data stored are:

• river and lake water levels
• river flows
• river suspended sediment concentrations;
• rainfall intensities
• river water quality parameters(temperature dissolved oxygen, conductivity and pH)

The management of the archive, including checking incoming data and distributing data to users, is covered by quality assurance (ISO 9002). Time series data is held from more than 1500 river and lake locations throughout New Zealand.

Within the Water Resources Archive the National Water Quality Network contributes to the Water Quality Database. The National Hydrometric Network contributes to the Hydrometric Database.

CD Rom. In future the Water Resources Archive will be accessible by Internet, with connections to other important national databases such as New Zealand Land Resources Inventory.

See contributing databases.

2. P.O. Box 11-115
Hamilton
+64 7 856 7026
+64 7 856 0151
g.bryers@niwa.cri.nz

• To provide a basis for developing knowledge on freshwater resources and providing a basis for decision-making.
• To identify trends in the condition of New Zealand freshwater bodies.

• National Climate Database. The connection between these two databases allows the seamless transfer of data between the two systems
• National Groundwater Database (IGNS)
• Regional and District Council Water Resources Databases
• Digital Elevation Models-to establish channel networks
• Land Resource Inventory (to identify approximate evaporation)
• Land Cover Database

These databases are used in various ways to refine models on water quantity, water quality and land use.

• PGSF research programmes (more than 25 research programmes use the data, resulting in more than 30 scientific papers per year
• industry including the hydro electric, agriculture, forestry and horticulture sectors
• central government (MfE, DoC, Civil Defence)
• local authorities (e.g. used by regional councils to determine low flow allocations)
• international programmes ( e.g. UNESCO, World Meteorological Organisation, International Association of Hydrological Sciences, International Panel on Climate Change, Land Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone)

• There is continuity of data over time.
• Data gaps are eliminated or minimized (e.g. damaged recorders are replaced as soon as possible).
• There are many end users and uses for the baseline data.
• The archive is easily accessible.
• It is the only database that comprehensively stores New Zealand's freshwater data. There are reciprocal arrangements for sharing water resources data with 10 regional councils.

• There is limited funding for the archive. This means that although the archive itself is managed there is little funding to interpret the data in the archive.
• The Tideda software used for the archive is not a proprietary product (i.e. it is produced by NIWA). Regional councils use different products. There is not yet an effective way to communicate between these different types of software.
• The original construction of the databases limits opportunities for future change.
• Some monitoring sites are funded at least in part by non- government funders. When these funders no longer wish to contribute funding it can be difficult to keep the monitoring programmes for those sites going.