Check the health of your stream
How healthy is your stream? Find out by booking a Stream Health Monitoring Assessment Kit (SHMAK) — a simple, science-based way to test the condition of your local stream or river.
The kit helps landowners, iwi, schools, and community groups across Waitaha Canterbury measure key indicators of water quality and stream health.
What’s included in a SHMAK
Each kit includes easy-to-use tools and instructions to monitor key freshwater indicators such as:
- Nitrate and phosphate (nutrients that affect water quality)
- E. coli
- pH levels
- Dissolved oxygen
- Water temperature and clarity
- Algae
- invertebrates
- conductivity.
You can also measure streamflow, fish, habitat, and streambed composition.
The kit includes step-by-step instructions to help you collect samples and understand your findings. National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) has created a series of videos demonstrating how and why to test each indicator or download the SHMAK instructions (DOCX file, 37KB).
The SHMAK was developed by NIWA and Federated Farmers of New Zealand to make freshwater monitoring accessible to everyone.
Why monitor stream health?
Healthy streams are vital for providing clean water, protecting native species, and offering natural spaces for recreation. Monitoring water quality and stream health allows us to:
- detect pollution early and prevent long-term damage
- support local conservation efforts
- build a picture of what’s happening on your farm
- educate ourselves and our community about the environment
- contribute to regional research and community projects.
Regular monitoring helps track changes over time — showing whether water quality is improving, declining, or staying stable. For example, if your stream is too warm, planting shade vegetation along the banks can help lower temperatures and reduce harmful algal growth.
Note: SHMAK kits are for testing stream water only. If you want to test your drinking water, please see our private water supply safety guide.
Who can book a SHMAK
The kits are available for:
- Landowners and farmers
- Iwi and hapū
- Schools and education groups
- Community and environmental organisations.
We currently have nine kits available across Canterbury — located in Christchurch, Kainga, and Timaru.
Access NIWA's official SHMAK resources: Download a SHMAK data sheet (PDF file, 348KB) and a monitoring plan form (PDF file, 240KB) to record your findings.