The Totara Stream at Stronvar is located in the middle reaches of the Totara Stream, and is publicly accessible from Fernglen Road. Monitoring of this site ceased from June 2016.
This site was monitored as part of a programme specifically designed to measure the health of rivers and streams in the Wellington Region. This involved monitoring water quality (see the 'Scientific Indicators' tab below) as well as the aquatic invertebrate communities, i.e, the insects and bugs that live in the riverbed (see the 'Ecology' tab below).
Monitoring of the different variables that affect water quality is carried out monthly. This involves the assessment of water clarity, nitrogen and phosphorus concentration, dissolved oxygen, pH and the concentration of the bacteria Escherichia coli (E. coli). The Macroinvertebrate Community Index (MCI) classifies the site based on the number of and different types of macroinvertebrates living there and is measured annually.
Overall, water quality and macroinvertebrate health is generally good at this site. This is a reflection of the surrounding land cover (which is dominated by exotic forest) and the fact that it is hard-bottomed, (made up of cobbles and gravel). However, the stream can experience low flows and high water temperatures in the summer, which can lead to growth of nuisance algae.