Taniwha in the valley: Hutt River is both threatened and threatening - but is it just misunderstood?

Settlement and paving along New Zealand's Hutt River are affecting the health of the river's waters at various points. Now the once pristine river is a victim of "urban stream syndrome," in which flood control measures tend to cause more variable water flow while also concentrating human-generated contaminants that are poisonous to river ecology.

Full story at Stuff.co.nz