The Water of Leith (also known as Ōwheo, the River Leith, Leith Stream or Leith Canal), is a small river in the South Island of New Zealand.
It rises to the north of the city of Dunedin, flowing for southeast through the northern part of the city and the campus of the University of Otago and Otago Polytechnic before reaching the Otago Harbour. The name of the city of Dunedin is the anglicised form of Dùn Èideann which is the Scottish Gaelic form of the name Edinburgh, and thus the river is also named for the Water of Leith which runs through the Scottish capital. The original Māori name for the stream was Ōwheo ("The place of Wheo"), Wheo being the name of a local chief whose village stood close to the river's original mouth, now within North Dunedin's campus.
Course
The Leith's source is close to the Dunedin Northern Motorway, part of State Highway 1, south of Leith Saddle, at an elevation of some above sea level. The motorway passes over the Leith Saddle, which lies between the sources of the Leith and the Waitati River, approximately halfway between the northern suburb of Pine Hill and the outlying settlement of Waitati.
From here, the Leith flows south, skirting a water supply reservoir formed behind Sullivan's Dam, which was constructed in 1916. From here, the Leith turns to the southeast, passing through a public park, Woodhaugh Gardens, as its floodplain begins to widen. At this point, the floodplain is less than a kilometre in width, and is bordered by steep cliffs to the southwest.
The lower reaches of the Leith are contained within engineered, canal-like concrete channels. These, and the various weirs located in the Leith's stream—notably just to the north of Woodhaugh Gardens, were built to prevent a repeat of the serious damage to Dunedin North by the highest recorded flood in March 1929. An earlier devastating flood occurred on the river in 1868. was commissioned by Dunedin City Council with funding from NZ Transport Agency. The project was a "Design and Construct" project costing NZ$1.4M. Design commenced in January 2018 and construction was completed in December 2018. The bridge spans 45m over the Leith and was constructed by Edifice Structures and designed by DC Structures Studio.
In the early 20th Century, the watercourse was referred to as the "Leith Canal" in legislation (such as the Otago Harbour Board Empowering Act 1939) and in newspapers; this name is now rarely used.
Gallery
<gallery widths="250">
Leith Sullivan's Dam.JPG|The headwaters of the Water of Leith diverted around Sullivan's Dam.
Leith Stream, Dunedin, NZ, high flow.jpg|The Water of Leith by the University of Otago after heavy rain.
Water of Leith Dunedin.jpg|Water of Leith near its mouth in Dunedin (2005).
Water of Leith close to its mouth in Dunedin 2025.jpg|Water of Leith near its mouth in Dunedin with Forsyth Barr Stadium visible (2025).
St David Street Footbridge and Leith Stream, Dunedin, NZ.JPG|St David Street Footbridge at the University of Otago.
Union Street Bridge and Leith Stream, Dunedin, NZ.jpg|The University of Otago Stone Bridge, also known as the Union Street Bridge.
</gallery>