Selwyn Times: December 13, 2016

SELWYN TIMES Tuesday December 13 2016 13
ecosystems
Cycle advocate awarded
• By Tom Doudney
SAD SIGHT: Photos of the eels trapped in the Selwyn/Waikirikiri
River, and others which were relocated, were shared to the Rolleston
Community Page on Facebook.
When the inputs (rainfall and
streamflow recharge) are lower than
the outputs (spring-fed streams and
human extraction), groundwater
levels drop – and vice-versa. This
causes regular rising and falling of
groundwater levels.
Because rainfall recharge is the
largest input into the groundwater
system, a series of dry winters causes
very low groundwater levels.
Groundwater extraction causes
some of the low levels, but it is relatively
insignificant.
The last time we saw groundwater
levels as low as they are now was in
the summer of 2005/06. The lowest
ever flow at Coes Ford was in March
2006 (20 litres per second). The flow
there in early December this year
was 115 litres per second, equalling
the lowest recorded in December
2005.
The situation in 2005/06 was
broken by snow in June 2006, which
provided a large groundwater recharge
boost.
There are full irrigation restrictions
on all takes from the Selwyn
River. Many groundwater takes are
on partial restriction and all deep
groundwater takes have restrictions
on their annual volumes. This has
been the situation since November
2015.
When you see irrigators working,
they will be using water sourced
from winter storage, deep groundwater
or large alpine rivers which
currently have good flows.
BROADFIELD resident
Don Babe has
received a Local
Hero award
for his cycling
advocacy over
more than a
decade.
Mr Babe (above) is chairperson
of the Christchurch-Little
River Rail Trail Trust and
Spokes Canterbury as well as
treasurer of the Cycling Action
Network.
The Kiwibank Local Hero
awards pay tribute to those
making a positive contribution
to their region, town,
suburb or community. Nearly
350 medals will be presented
nationwide over the next few
weeks and Mr Babe is one of
37 Canterbury recipients.
Through his role with
Spokes, Mr Babe’s mission has
been to promote the bicycle as
a mode of everyday transportation.
Spokes has a vision that
by 2020, Christchurch will be
considered one of the top five
cycle cities in the world.
The citation for his award
said he had given countless
hours in his efforts in
Canterbury and further afield,
and was one of the most
well-known and influential
advocates for cyclists in the
South Island.
Mr Babe said he was very
flattered and humbled.
“All those sort of things
really come down to good
teams and. if you have got a
good team, it’s real easy,” he
said.
“Only one person stands
PHOTO: GEOFF SLOAN
up but the rest of them are all
there as well.”
He was motivated by his
concerns about the state of
New Zealanders’ health and
the planet and his belief that
cycling made good economic
sense.
One overall national Local
Hero award winner will be
chosen from the regional
recipients in February.