Near the mouth of the Waiau River is the Te Wae Wae wetlands, built by the Waiau Fisheries and Wildlife Habitat Enhancement Trust on 25 hectares of land leased from Meridian Energy and the Department of Conservation. This wetland habitat allows juvenile whitebait to grow to maturity and other wetland species to breed. It is the largest of several wetland areas developed by the trust to increase the diversity and habitat of Waiau native species and improve the water quality of the river. The area was historically wetland which was drained to convert into farm land.