What: Green Party Co-leader kayaks the Manawatu River as part of his national Dirty Rivers Rafting Tour. When: 9.30am, Friday 26 February. Where: Meet at carpark before Fitzherbert Bridge, left hand side of Fitzherbert Ave just past Hardie St.

Otago Regional Council (ORC) staff have identified the extent of the toxic algae contamination in the Silver Stream, Mosgiel. The contamination is limited to the stretch of water between the confluence with the Taieri River and Three Mile Hill Road.

Wellington, Jan 19 NZPA - Red algal bloom is not to blame for the deaths of scores of little blue penguins along the North Island's west coast, the Department of Conservation (DOC) says.

The recent warm dry weather in Canterbury is prompting warnings about rivers developing potentially toxic algal growths.

News that the Manawatu River is one of the most polluted in the Western world, with a pollution measure that is literally off the scale, drives home the urgent need for Government action on water quality, Green Party Co-leader Russel Norman said today.

Other New Zealand rivers have been assessed as having worse water quality than the Manawatu River, today described as one of the most polluted in the Western world, says Labour's water quality spokesman Brendon Burns.

Rural Delivery continues to look back at highlights from stories covered in spring this year. We look at advances in genomics, mussel breeding and what work is being done to reduce pesticide use in the pipfruit industry.

Independent laboratory tests on dolphins that died recently in the Hauraki Gulf have come back negative for both brodifacoum (rat poison) and tetrodotoxin - the toxin found in sea slugs that was responsible for recent dog deaths.

The Department of Conservation is concerned about recent dolphin deaths in the Hauraki Gulf, and has commissioned toxicology tests to try to determine how they died.

Scientists from Nelson-based Cawthron Institute have spent the day scouring Narrow Neck Beach for clues in the deaths of two dogs on Auckland's waterfront.