There would once have been numerous streams wending their way across the inner west of Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland. In some areas, rainfall would soak directly into the ground to charge aquifers which emerged through springs alongside basalt lava flows from the various maunga.
Surface streams were important water sources for Māori and early European settlers, but throughout the late-nineteenth and twentieth centuries most of these streams were seen as dumping grounds or obstacles in the way of progess. These now run unloved through culverts under roads and houses. Five significant streams remain in the Urban Ark area. All of them are significantly degraded and that’s something we want to change.
- Te Auaunga Oakley Creek
- Waitītiko Meola Creek
- Opoutukeha Cox’s Creek
- Waiateao Motions Creek
- Edgar’s Creek