February 2026 - Newsletter
Tēnā koutou Catchment members,
A first newsletter for 2026! I hope the market and weather conditions have continued to be on your side since the last newsletter. This month's focus is to update you on what's been happening with West Waikato Coastal Community Catchment Group (WWCC).
Community Advisory Group (CAG)
WWCC invites community members to attend its first Community Advisory Group (CAG) meeting to discuss the new strategy, draft plan and priorities for the coming months.
This meeting provides an opportunity for residents to share ideas, ask questions, and help guide future work within the catchment.
Date: Thursday 5 March
Time: 11:30am
Venue: Te Akau Waingaro Community Complex
We will cover:
WWCC project updates
Discuss a basic Work Plan for WWCC
Share a proposed calendar of upcoming events
We aim to have draft documentation to you in advance of the meeting and look forward to you being there and any ideas you bring on the day. There will be some food and refreshments provided.
You will have the opportunity to bring your membership up to date on the day. Registration is essential for catering purposes.
Please register here: www.wwcc.co.nz/events
Water Quality Day - October 2025
WWCC contracted Beca to undertake water quality monitoring across the catchment.
The purpose was to create a baseline picture of what the catchment water quality looks like and build capability for the catchment group to carry on this work after the contract is complete.
To discuss how the project was progressing 9 months in a Water Quality Day on the 23rd of October at Te Akau Complex. 40 people attended, Rob Macnab facilitated and James Ryan, Marc Dresser and Emily Lion-Cachet presented from Beca.
Monthly water quality testing has been undertaken at 12 locations in 9 streams throughout the catchment since February 2025. A year’s worth of testing will show seasonal changes and provide the catchment with a baseline set of data to build from.
It is intended that the catchment group will be trained and able to carry on undertaking testing independently should they choose to. Testing is being led on behalf of the WWCC Water Quality Team including: Alex Parrott, Greg Boyd, Jimmy Glenn and Jess Lourie. Thank you team!!
The Water Quality team has been learning how to use a handheld monitoring device. The results from the device are matched to the lab test results each month, so we can be confident that future testing using the device will be accurate.
It was emphasized that WWCC owns the data and information will not be shared without approval and discussion.
The initial results after 9 months are largely in line with expectations.
Some of the data spikes in the results coincided with high rainfall and some suspected in relation to large numbers of geese upstream.
Marc explained that one round of environmental DNA testing had also been carried out. These tests identify such a wide range of plant and animal species in the streams that they need more time to interpret them all.
While the early results are encouraging, it was suggested that there’s a real opportunity—and responsibility—to keep pushing for even better outcomes.
Petra Fransen from WRC spoke about the role the regional council could take to support the catchment group.
12 months of data collection was completed at the end of January.
Watch this space! We are organising a community day to share the outcomes.
MyEnviro Training - November 2025
On the 12th of November MyEnviro staff organised a hands-on training on how to use their catchment and farm mapping system.
The idea is to map the entire WWCC catchment area online, so you can look at your own property as well as navigate our water testing locations, pest control sites, survey data and more.
Have you used MyEnviro yet?
How are you finding it?
Get in touch with Louisa at manager@wwcc.co.nz or 027 899 2280 and let her know what you think.
Louisa Alix - December 2025
It was a slow start when I joined WWCC as the General Manager in December, but by the end of January I was running full steam ahead!
In the first two months I had the pleasure of connecting with Rob Macnab, Lisa Marcroft, Robyn Bregmen, Sandra Parrott, Sarah Glenn, a few stakeholders, most of the water quality team (Greg Boyd, James Glenn, Alex Parrott) and have since met more of the Executive Committee, including Angelique Bidois, Shane Borrell, Tom Whitford and Katie Norvall. I'll let you work out which one I am in the photos below!
Two weeks ago, we aligned our planned projects with the new strategy and submitted the new MPI project variation, a big piece of work!
In line with that document I will review the pest survey and water quality data outcomes, am sourcing support, data and advice from Landcare Trust, Waikato Regional Council and other key stakeholders. We are delving into potential project ideas, partnerships and funding opportunities and I am drafting a work plan for the next few months to discuss with you!
I'm really keen to hear what each and every one of you have to say and am looking forward to working together and seeing what we can achieve. We are hoping to move around the catchment and connect with as many of you as possible at Woolshed Workshops in April and May.
For now, I look forward to meeting more of you at the CAG meeting next week! You can register for the CAG meeting here www.wwcc.co.nz/events
Please update your contact details! I am now the person on the other end of the manager@wwcc.co.nz email address and WWCC mobile 027 899 2280 and I hope to hear from you there.
Robyn Bregmen, is your Executive Committee Secretary and you can reach her at the admin@wwcc.co.nz email address from now on.
Recycling at Te Akau has started for 2026!
As previously advised, and following strong support during consultation, Waikato District Council approved monthly pop-up recycling service for all Te Akau residents to be delivered two years early. These services started in August 2025.
Importantly, there will be no cost to ratepayers for the first two years. The service is intended to be fully funded by the Waste Minimisation Levy until the targeted rate takes effect from 1 July 2027.
Monthly recycling runs on the 3rd Saturday of every month, commenced Saturday, 21 February and will run through December.
We are very grateful to Waikato District Council, Councillor Caro Eyre, and to all of you that responded to our survey last year. Instead of travelling out of the area, you can now drop your recycling locally and they’ll take it to the recycling facility for you.
This is a huge win for our rural community, so please add it to your calendar and help spread the word to neighbours and whānau
What you need to know:
When and where:
The monthly drop-offs will be between 8:30am and 12:30pm on third Saturday of each month. The location will be Te Akau Hall carpark (next to the school).
What to bring for recycling:
Plastics – plastic containers, bottles and trays with the numbers 1, 2 or 5 inside the recycling symbol.
Glass – bottles and jars.
Metal – food tins and drink cans.
Paper and cardboard – flattened boxes and papers.
Do not bring:
Recycling from garden shed/garage/agrichemical products (we can only take household recycling).
Containers larger than 4L
Soft plastics
Preparing your recycling:
Remove lids from containers and bottles, triggers and pumps,
Rinse all plastics, tins, cans and glass, and remove any food scraps from pizza boxes etc.
Separate your recycling into types: glass, paper and mixed plastics and cans (plastics and cans can be co-mingled).
Bring your recycling in: cardboard boxes, tubs, feed bags. Just make sure the weight of each container is less than 15kg.
On drop-off day:
Enter the site where the flag is and proceed at 10km/hr to the recycling truck.
There is a one-way direction of vehicles for the service.
Park, switch off your engine and apply your hand break before unloading your recycling containers.
Our contractors will tip your recycling into the truck bays and hand back your containers once emptied.
Please remain behind the temporary barriers and follow our contractor instructions at all times.
Only one vehicle can unload at a time. If there is a queue of vehicles please remain in your vehicle until your turn.
Once unloaded, continue through the carpark and leave via either exit.
Hei konā mai
West Waikato Coastal Community Catchment Inc, Te Akau, Waikato, New Zealand