Te Waikoropupū Springs
{{Short description|Spring in New Zealand}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=October 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox spring
| name = Te Waikoropupū Springs
| photo = Clear waters of Te Waikoropupu Springs.jpg
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| location = Tākaka, Tasman District,
New Zealand
| elevation = 20m
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| type = Karst spring
| spring_source = Wharepapa Arthur Marble
Aquifer
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| discharge = 13.4 m3/s
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Te Waikoropupū Springs, also known as Pupu Springs and Waikaremumu Springs,{{Cite news |title=The Pupu Springs, also called the Waikaremumu Springs, near Takaka, photographed from the air.|work=The Press|date=12 November 1968 |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19681112.2.195 |access-date=21 December 2022 |via=Papers Past}} are located near Tākaka in Golden Bay, in the Tasman District of the South Island of New Zealand. The springs are known for the clarity of the water, and the volume of water discharged. They are the largest cold–water springs in the Southern Hemisphere. The springs are spiritually significant to Māori people. The springs feed Te Waikoropupū River, a short tributary of the Tākaka River.
A water conservation order for Te Waikoropupū Springs and the Wharepapa Arthur Marble Aquifer was made in October 2023, giving them the highest level of legal protection for a body of water.
Water clarity
The water discharged from the springs is the clearest that has ever been recorded from a karst spring. The horizontal visibility of the constantly 11.7 °C cool water in the springs has been measured at an average of 63 metres, and until 2011 was considered second only to sub-glacial water in the Antarctic.{{cite web |year= |title=Places to visit – Nelson/Tasman – Golden Bay – Te Waikoropupū Springs |url=http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-visit/nelson-tasman/golden-bay/te-waikoropupu-springs/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716165636/http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-visit/nelson-tasman/golden-bay/te-waikoropupu-springs/ |archive-date=16 July 2012 |accessdate=10 April 2012 |publisher=Department of Conservation |quote=In 1993, The National Institute for Water and Atmosphere (NIWA) carried out optical measurements under water and found that the visibility was 63 metres.}} Since that year, however, the record holder for fresh water clarity is Blue Lake, also in Tasman District.{{cite web|title=Nelson's Blue Lake – The clearest freshwater ever reported|url=http://www.niwa.co.nz/news/nelson%E2%80%99s-blue-lake-%E2%80%93-the-clearest-freshwater-ever-reported|publisher=NIWA|accessdate=20 December 2011}}{{cite news|title=Nelson's Blue Lake clearest|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10774272|accessdate=20 December 2011|newspaper=New Zealand Herald|date=20 December 2011}}
Aquifer
File:Te Waikoropupū Springs 351.jpg
The source of the springs is an aquifer beneath the Tākaka Valley. The catchment that supplies the aquifer covers an area of {{convert|940|km2|abbr=on}}, and rises to an elevation of {{convert|1650|m|abbr=on}}. The aquifer beneath the valley has three different types; the Tākaka Unconfined Gravel Aquifer, Takaka Limestone Aquifer and the Wharepapa Arthur Marble Aquifer. There are complex interactions between surface water and these aquifers, but the Wharepapa Arthur Marble Aquifer is the main source for Te Waikoropupū Springs.{{cite web |last1=Thomas |first1=J.T. |last2=Harvey |first2=M.M. |date=July 2013 |title=Water Resources of the Takaka Water Management Area |url=https://www.epa.govt.nz/assets/FileAPI/proposal/NSP000042/Applicants-proposal-documents/0267abaf96/WCW-Appendix-05-01-water-resources-of-Takaka.pdf.pdf |access-date=28 October 2024 |via=Environmental Protection Authority |publisher=Tasman District Council}}
Volume of water
Image:NzGoldenBayPupuSprings3.jpg
The Te Waikoropupū Springs are notable for the volume of water discharged from the eight main vents. They are the largest cold–water springs in the Southern Hemisphere,{{Cite web |date=25 May 2018 |title=Underwater footage shows exceptional clarity of Te Waikoropupū Springs |url=https://niwa.co.nz/news/underwater-footage-shows-exceptional-clarity-te-waikoropupu-springs |access-date=9 June 2024 |website=NIWA}} with a mean outflow of 13.4 m3/s.{{CiteQ|Q130570495}} The floor of the lake is covered with white sand. Waters expelled from some of the smaller vents carry the sand upward. These vents are known as the 'dancing sands', which for the few scuba divers who have secured permission to dive in the springs, is one of the highlights of underwater sightseeing.{{Cite journal |last=Hindmarsh |first=Gerard |date=Sep 1992 |title=Underwater gardens of Pupu Springs |url=https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/underwater-gardens-of-pupu-springs/ |journal=New Zealand Geographic |issue=16}}
Spiritual significance
Image:NzGoldenBayPupuSprings2.jpg
The springs are considered as sacred by the local iwi,{{Cite news |last=Hindmarsh |first=Nina |date=27 March 2018 |title=Protecting Te Waikoropupū Springs' purity holds deep spiritual significance to iwi |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/102590168/protecting-te-waikoropup-springs-purity-holds-deep-spiritual-significance-to-iwi |access-date=28 October 2024 |work=Stuff}} and have been registered as wāhi tapu with the Māori Heritage Council of Heritage New Zealand.{{NZHPT|7605|Te Waikoropupū|9 June 2024}} Waikoropupū is the legendary home of the female taniwha Huriawa, one of the three main taniwha of Aotearoa. She is a diver of land and sea, travelling deep beneath the earth to clear blocked waterways. She is brave and wise and believed to still rest in the waters of Waikoropupū, when she is not away attending to business.Signboard: "The Legend of Huriawa", at the marae at the entrance to Te Waikoropupū. October 2024
On signboards at the entrance to the springs, and in submissions seeking protection of the springs, iwi have stated:
{{Blockquote
|text=The waters of Te Waikoropupū represent the lifeblood of Papatūānuku [earth] and the tears of Ranginui [sky], symbolising the link between past and present.
}}
At the entrance to the walkway to the springs, the Department of Conservation has placed a sign:
"Te Waikoropupū Springs are a taonga (treasure) and wāhi tapu (a sacred place) for Māori, both locally and nationally. The legends of Te Waikoropupū are told in the stories of Huriawa, its taniwha (guardian spirit). In Māori tradition the Springs are waiora, the purest form of water which is the wairua (spiritual) and the physical source of life. The Springs provide water for healing, and in the past were a place of ceremonial blessings at times of birth and death and the leaving and returning of travellers."
Environmental protection
In July 2023 the Environment Court recommended that the Minister for the Environment make a Water Conservation Order (WCO) for Te Waikoropupū Springs and the Wharepapa Arthur Marble Aquifer, the highest legal protection available for a body of water.{{Cite web |title=NZ's biggest freshwater springs granted highest legal protection |url=https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/09/21/nzs-biggest-freshwater-springs-granted-highest-legal-protection/ |access-date=28 September 2023 |website=1 News |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Water Conservation Order: Te Waikoropupū Springs |url=https://www.epa.govt.nz/public-consultations/decided/te-waikoropupu-springs/ |access-date=28 September 2023 |website=Environmental Protection Authority}}{{Cite web |date=21 September 2023 |title=Highest legal protection for New Zealand's largest freshwater springs |url=https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/highest-legal-protection-new-zealand’s-largest-freshwater-springs |access-date=28 September 2023 |website=beehive.govt.nz}} The WCO came into effect in October 2023.{{cite news |last1=Jacobs |first1=Maxine |title=Historic water conservation order shields Te Waikoropupū springs |url=https://www.teaonews.co.nz/2023/10/19/protection-order-for-te-waikoropupu-springs-comes-into-effect/ |access-date=29 October 2024 |work=Te Ao News |date=19 October 2023}} However, the Sixth National Government of New Zealand passed the Fast-track Approvals Act in December 2024. This legislation overrides the RMA and can thus nullify the WCO.{{Cite web |date=2024-04-03 |title=Fast-track Approvals Bill – Frequently Asked Questions {{!}} Forest and Bird |url=https://www.forestandbird.org.nz/resources/fast-track-approvals-bill-frequently-asked-questions |access-date=23 April 2025 |website=Forest & Bird |language=en-NZ}}
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References
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External links
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- {{cite web|url=https://niwa.co.nz/news/underwater-footage-shows-exceptional-clarity-te-waikoropupu-springs |title=Underwater footage shows exceptional clarity of Te Waikoropupū Springs|date=25 May 2018| website=NIWA|access-date=23 April 2025}}
- {{cite web|url=https://www.environmentcourt.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Decisions/2023-07-28-WCO-Final-Report-Recommendation.pdf |title=Report and recommendation to the Minister for the making of a Water Conservation Order for Te Puna Waiora o Te Waikoropupū and Wharepapa Arthur Marble Aquifer Part 1|date=28 July 2023|website= Environment Court of New Zealand|access-date=23 April 2025}}
- {{Cite web |title=Te Puna Waiora o Te Waikoropupū Springs and Wharepapa Arthur Marble Aquifer Water Conservation Order 2023 (SL 2023/258) |url=https://www.legislation.govt.nz/regulation/public/2023/0258/latest/whole.html#LMS904565 |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=www.legislation.govt.nz}}
{{Tasman District}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Te Waikoropupu Springs}}
Category:Landforms of the Tasman District