We provide comprehensive environmental monitoring services with a focus on water quality and ecological health. If your resource consent includes specific environmental monitoring conditions – such as water quality, sediment, habitat condition, or aquatic life monitoring – our expert team can design and implement a customised monitoring plan to meet these requirements. From conducting fieldwork to analysing results, we ensure all consent conditions are fulfilled. For local and regional governments responsible for overseeing resource consent compliance, we also offer expert ecological advice in freshwater, estuarine, and coastal marine environments. We’re also experienced at assisting regional councils in situations where environmental offending is suspected via site visits and preparation of witness statements.
Beyond consent-related monitoring, we specialise in assessing the health and biodiversity of aquatic ecosystems. Our services include invertebrate surveys, fish population assessments, habitat evaluations, and water quality analysis, providing a complete picture of ecosystem health. These insights help our clients identify ecological impacts, monitor changes over time, and adopt sustainable management practices. Whether for compliance, restoration, or conservation, our environmental monitoring services are designed to protect and enhance valuable water resources.
Developing and Maintaining an Effective Monitoring ProgrammeWestland District Council
In 2019, EOS Ecology was commissioned by the Westland District Council to review and redesign the existing sampling programme at two closed landfill sites in Hokitika and Kumara to ensure compliance with the surface water and groundwater monitoring components of their resource consents. Our scientists worked closely with Westland District Council to undertake a comprehensive assessment of the requirements of the consent and an on-site review of the surface water and groundwater sampling sites to prepare new monitoring plans. This process involved replacing ineffective sampling sites and establishing new sites to rule out other contributors to downstream water quality. As part of this programme development, we provided comprehensive reports detailing methodology and site access information to ensure repeatability and ease of sampling for future monitoring rounds.
Following on from our programme development, our science team has undertaken the re-designed surface water and groundwater sampling for each subsequent year and prepared annual compliance reports outlining any breaches of consent conditions and adherence to the Australia and New Zealand Guidelines (ANZG, 2018) for freshwater quality related to landfill leachate. This reporting not only addresses current conditions but also provides guidance to ensure that consent conditions are met in the future.
Creating a Robust Dataset to Inform Estuary ManagementChristchurch City Council, Environment Canterbury & Ihutai Trust
In 2005, Christchurch City Council, Environment Canterbury, and the Avon-Heathcote Estuary Ihutai Trust agreed to a ‘healthy rivers and estuaries’ programme that would provide a road map for multi-agency investment in long-term monitoring. As part of this programme, EOS Ecology was commissioned to develop and implement a long-term monitoring programme for the city’s estuary and tidal rivermouth habitats. We developed a defensible programme that adheres to national estuary monitoring standards, and which focuses on key ecological health indicators including sediment contamination, nutrient levels, macroalgae cover, and invertebrate communities; providing a robust long-term dataset that supports informed decision-making for effective ecosystem management.
Since 2007, our science team has been the trusted provider for the annual field surveys and invertebrate sample processing of the healthy estuaries programme, providing a valuable dataset for the city and regional council to identify long term trends and review changing estuary health. This long-term dataset also proved invaluable following the 2010/11 Christchurch earthquakes; with our annual data from multiple sites across the estuary and rivermouths offering a unique opportunity to evaluate any changes wrought by the earthquakes.
