A Northland council is warning residents to be weary of the water they buy to replenish rainwater tanks as they believe their supplies may be being siphoned and sold untreated.

Water Stories #3 Telling the children of Village Kids Havelock North Preschool that there were bugs in their tap-water was the only way to explain Havelock North's water contamination crisis last August. Made with funding from NZ On Air.

Each year, our country is shifting at about the same speed our fingernails grow. Here are four other strange things you probably don't know about New Zealand.

COMMENT: Aucklanders are a hypocritical bunch. We pollute our precious inner harbour beaches, we have to drive for hours seeking somewhere to relax.

The search for a missing boatie on the Kapiti Coast has been suspended.

The state of our rivers and lakes has predictably come under intensified focus this summer, as Kiwis head to their favourite watering holes.

The search for a missing boatie in Otaki is based at Te Horo Beach this morning. Two Surf Life Saving boats are combing the waves

Power has been restored to hundreds of households across Auckland after wild weather wreaked havoc at the weekend.

Hawke's Bay has had its driest January since 1950, according to MetService records for that month. Made with funding from NZ On Air.

Swimming has been banned at 10 Auckland beaches this summer because of worsening pollution from human and animal wastes.

Aucklanders have been waiting a long time for the day they will no longer see health warnings appear on some of their beaches after heavy rain.

It's one of the jewels in the City of Sails' tourism push - but what lies beneath the Auckland Harbour is a very dirty secret.

Experts warn we shouldn't swim at any beach in the Auckland region after heavy rain. Simon Collins finds out why.

Some experts believe the key to eliminating raw sewage overflows into Auckland Harbour lies on the roof of one of the city's recent office blocks.

Climate change scientists have projected continued global greenhouse gas emissions would heat Northland heat up more than other regions

The low water level in the Heretaunga aquifer is making itself felt outside of Hastings. Residents and businesses not connected

Auckland and Northland are about to get much-needed rain with a line of thunderstorms off the coast of the North Island.

The New Zealand First leader shares his concerns over drought in Northland, Bill English's effort in Europe and free trade agreements in general.

Twenty-one seconds is all it took for Wendy Atkinson's 2-year-old to scale their regulation-standard pool fence.

What happens when a town triples in size overnight? Made with funding from NZ On Air.

The city council is applying to Environment Canterbury to continue discharging untreated wastewater into the waterways and harbours in emergencies.

Some Mangawhai residents are out of water and facing longer delays to replenish their tanks after WaterCare turned off the taps at their closest filling stations.

A fisherman plucked from Manukau Harbour after spending five hours in choppy waters has been discharged from hospital.

In the last of a five-part series looking at research in Auckland's blue backyard, an expert discusses how far our ocean ecosystems can be pushed.

Getting closer than 50m to a killer whale could set you back a couple hundred thousand or land you behind bars.

Billy Turner waited until after he'd been for a 20-minute swim with a 2.7m shark at Pauanui to tell his mother what he'd done.

WATCH: An extreme water daredevil has gone over the Huka Falls on a bodyboard, an act that has been described as "reckless and irresponsible".

In the second of a five part series on Auckland's big blue backyard, science reporter Jamie Morton talks to seabird expert Dr Brendon Dunphy.

A yachting expert says a fleeing yachtie's sailing trip with his young daughter would have been slow going with big weather risks as he crossed the Tasman.

Science reporter Jamie Morton looks at some of the hardy little creatures that live in our rock pools.