Catchment area
Regions: Waikato/BoP, Western Bay Of Plenty
Paengaroa, Pongakawa, Pukehina, Te Puke
About
Members: 16
Wai Kōkopu – working to restore the health of the Waihi Estuary
The Waihī estuary, located in Maketū, is in a poor and declining ecological state and does not consistently meet guidelines for safe swimming and shellfish gathering.
Our programme is on a mission to change this. Together, with the community, we are harnessing the power of catchment-wide collaboration and innovation to build healthy, more resilient waterways that will heal the Waihī estuary.
Our measures for success are simple - when the kōkopu, are flourishing from the sea to the mountains and our estuary is rich with giant pīpī again, we will then know the Waihī Estuary is returning to good health.
Wai Kōkopu Incorporated is a community driven governance group that connects, informs and lobbies agencies, organisations, industry and landowners towards achieving the reductions required to meet catchment water quality targets.
Our advisors work collaboratively on environmental aspirations for their area, achieving great results for water quality and biodiversity, while building social cohesion.