Stormwater, also written storm water, is water that originates from precipitation (storm), including heavy rain and meltwater from hail and snow. Stormwater can soak into the soil (infiltrate) and become groundwater, be stored on depressed land surface in ponds and puddles, evaporate back into the atmosphere, or contribute to surface runoff. Most runoff is conveyed directly as surface water to nearby streams, rivers or other large water bodies without treatment.
A storm drain, storm sewer, surface water drain/sewer, or stormwater drain is infrastructure designed to drain excess rain and ground water from impervious surfaces such as paved streets, car parks, parking lots, footpaths, sidewalks, and roofs. Storm drains vary in design from small residential dry wells to large municipal systems.
Waitematā Harbour is the main access by sea to Auckland, New Zealand. For this reason it is often referred to as Auckland Harbour, despite the fact that it is one of two harbours adjoining the city. The harbour forms the northern and eastern coasts of the Auckland isthmus and is crossed by the Auckland Harbour Bridge. It is matched on the southern side of the city by the shallower waters of the Manukau Harbour.
The Whau River is an estuarial arm of the southwestern Waitemata Harbour within the Auckland metropolitan area in New Zealand. It flows north for 5.7 kilometres (3.5 mi) from its origin at the confluence of the Avondale Stream and Whau Stream to its mouth between the Te Atatū Peninsula and the long, thin Rosebank Peninsula in Avondale. It is 800 metres (2,600 ft) at its widest and 400 metres (1,300 ft) wide at its mouth.
Mount Albert is an inner suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, which is centred on Ōwairaka / Mount Albert, a local volcanic peak which dominates the landscape. By 1911, growth in the area had increased to the point where Mount Albert was declared an independent borough, which was later absorbed into Auckland. The suburb is located 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) to the southwest of the Auckland City Centre.
Mangere Inlet is an arm of the Manukau Harbour, the southwestern of the two harbours of Auckland, New Zealand and itself an arm of the Tasman Sea. The inlet lies between the Auckland isthmus and South Auckland, and has a size of 6.6 km2 and a catchment of 34.5 km2, being considered to extend to just west of Onehunga. It is an environment highly modified by land reclamation and human uses, with the northern shoreline especially affected. However, the inlet also acts as a natural sedimentation sink, thus being especially at risk of contamination.
The Auckland isthmus, also known as the Tāmaki isthmus, is a narrow stretch of land on the North Island of New Zealand in the Auckland Region, and the location of the central suburbs of the city of Auckland, including the CBD. The isthmus is located between two rias : the Waitematā Harbour to the north, which opens to the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana and Pacific Ocean, and the Manukau Harbour to the south, which opens to the Tasman Sea. The isthmus is the most southern section of the Northland Peninsula.
Iron Cove Creek, a southern tributary of the Parramatta River, is an urban stream west of Sydney Harbour, located in the inner-western Sydney suburbs of Croydon, Ashfield, Haberfield and Five Dock in New South Wales, Australia.
Meola Reef, or Te Tokaroa in Māori, is a lava flow forming a reef peninsula across part of Auckland's Waitemata Harbour, New Zealand. The reef extends for over 2 kilometres across the harbour, to within 500 metres of Kauri Point on the northern shore.
Urban runoff is surface runoff of rainwater, landscape irrigation, and car washing created by urbanization. Impervious surfaces are constructed during land development. During rain, storms, and other precipitation events, these surfaces, along with rooftops, carry polluted stormwater to storm drains, instead of allowing the water to percolate through soil. This causes lowering of the water table and flooding since the amount of water that remains on the surface is greater. Most municipal storm sewer systems discharge untreated stormwater to streams, rivers, and bays. This excess water can also make its way into people's properties through basement backups and seepage through building wall and floors.
Wairau Valley is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. The area is predominantly light industrial/commercial. The Northern Motorway passes to the east, and the Wairau Park shopping complex extends to the north. The valley is drained by the Wairau Creek, which flows on through Milford and discharges into the Hauraki Gulf from an estuary at the northern end of Milford Beach.
Water pollution in New Zealand is an increasing concern for those who use and care for waterways and for New Zealand regulatory bodies. An increase in population is linked to an increase in water pollution, due to a range of causes such as rural land use, industrial use and urban development. Fresh water quality is under pressure from agriculture, hydropower, urban development, pest invasions and climate change. While pollution from point sources has been reduced, diffuse pollution such as nutrients, pathogens and sediments development and from stormwater in towns is not under control. There are more than 800 water quality monitoring sites around New Zealand that are regularly sampled.
Oakley Creek is a creek in Auckland, New Zealand. While heavily human-modified, it has a number of important ecological features, such as having the only natural waterfall on the Auckland isthmus.
Water-sensitive urban design (WSUD) is a land planning and engineering design approach which integrates the urban water cycle, including stormwater, groundwater, and wastewater management and water supply, into urban design to minimise environmental degradation and improve aesthetic and recreational appeal. WSUD is a term used in the Middle East and Australia and is similar to low-impact development (LID), a term used in the United States; and Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS), a term used in the United Kingdom.
Coxs Bay or Opoututeka is a bay located in the Waitematā Harbour in the Auckland region of New Zealand. It lies between the settlements of Westmere and Herne Bay to the southwest and northeast respectively, and to the southeast is Grey Lynn. The Bay is protected from the west by the end of one of the longest lava flows in the Auckland volcanic field, Te Tokoroa / Meola Reef.
Albert-Eden is a local government area in Auckland, in New Zealand's Auckland Region. It is governed by the Albert-Eden Local Board and Auckland Council, and is located within the council's Albert-Eden-Puketāpapa Ward.
West Auckland is one of the major geographical areas of Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand. Much of the area is dominated by the Waitākere Ranges, the eastern slopes of the Miocene era Waitākere volcano which was upraised from the ocean floor, and now one of the largest regional parks in New Zealand. The metropolitan area of West Auckland developed between the Waitākere Ranges to the west and the upper reaches of the Waitematā Harbour to the east. It covers areas such as Glen Eden, Henderson, Massey and New Lynn.
The Waikumete Stream is a stream of the Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It flows north from its sources in Titirangi, before joining the Oratia Stream. Both bodies are tributaries of Te Wai-o-Pareira / Henderson Creek, which flows into the western Waitematā Harbour. The stream passes through the suburbs of Titirangi, Kaurilands, Glen Eden and Sunnyvale, and since the mid-2000s has been forested with native flora.
The Upper Waitematā Harbour is an estuary of the Waitematā Harbour in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It flows south-east from the town of Riverhead, and was historically the border between Waitakere City and North Shore City in Auckland.
Lucas Creek is a stream and tidal estuary of Upper Waitematā Harbour in the Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It flows through Albany on the western North Shore, and enters the Upper Waitematā Harbour between Pāremoremo and Greenhithe.
