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Wednesday <strong>September</strong> <strong>27</strong> <strong>2017</strong><br />
Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi<br />
BAY HARBOUR<br />
PAGE 23<br />
Your Local Views<br />
Protecting waterways on the peninsula<br />
It was World<br />
Rivers Day<br />
on Sunday,<br />
which aims<br />
to celebrate<br />
and protect<br />
waterways<br />
around<br />
the globe.<br />
Banks Peninsula Water<br />
Management Zone Joint<br />
Committee chairwomen<br />
Paula Smith writes about<br />
how our local waterways<br />
are faring<br />
World Rivers Day is a good<br />
time to think about the state of<br />
our local rivers and streams.<br />
On Banks Peninsula, rivers are<br />
not big but we have lots of them.<br />
There are hundreds of separate<br />
streams and creeks draining<br />
every valley, taking water down<br />
to join the sea in every bay.<br />
Our waterways are typically<br />
short, steep and susceptible<br />
to contamination from<br />
phosphorous-rich sediment. So<br />
what condition are they in?<br />
Environment Canterbury<br />
regularly calculates a water<br />
quality index for selected Banks<br />
Peninsula streams.<br />
The index combines a number<br />
of measurements to provide an<br />
indicator of overall water quality.<br />
In 2014-15, one of the 13 streams<br />
was assessed as good, nine were<br />
fair, and three were poor.<br />
Twenty three Banks Peninsula<br />
streams are assessed each year<br />
for ‘aquatic ecosystem health’.<br />
Some streams score very well,<br />
others less so. Results vary<br />
widely from year to year and<br />
there are lost of factors.<br />
So far it is not clear from the<br />
data whether the ecosystem<br />
health of Banks Peninsula’s<br />
streams overall is improving or<br />
declining.<br />
We may like to think that<br />
our Banks Peninsula rivers and<br />
streams are in pretty good shape<br />
but the evidence does not allow<br />
us to be complacent. What can<br />
be done to improve the situation?<br />
Since its first meeting six years<br />
ago, the Banks Peninsula zone<br />
committee has allocated more<br />
than $600,000 to 26 projects intended<br />
to maintain and improve<br />
water quality and freshwater<br />
biodiversity on Banks Peninsula.<br />
STREAM: A typical water catchment on Banks Peninsula, which Paula Smith aims to protect.<br />
Has it made a difference? We are<br />
not sure. Most of the funding has<br />
been used to fence stock out and<br />
plant natives on stream banks.<br />
Research elsewhere has shown<br />
fencing and riparian planting<br />
is an effective way to reduce<br />
contamination and enhance<br />
freshwater habitat.<br />
We assume it is working here<br />
and that the money is well spent.<br />
Some streams are now fenced<br />
and planted ki uta ki tai, from<br />
the mountains to the sea, providing<br />
protection for the whole<br />
length of the stream.<br />
The zone committee is looking<br />
forward to receiving the<br />
most recent monitoring results<br />
for Banks Peninsula’s rivers<br />
and streams in the upcoming<br />
months.<br />
Funding, support, and advice<br />
are available to landowners with<br />
ideas on how to improve water<br />
quality in their streams or enhance<br />
freshwater biodiversity.<br />
•For more information, get in<br />
touch with zone facilitator Olivia<br />
Smith on 0<strong>27</strong> 886 3949.<br />
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