Southern View: October 23, 2018

SOUTHERN VIEW Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
3
News
New method to beat midges
A NEW WAY of controlling the
plague of midges at the Bromley
oxidation ponds will be trialled
over the coming months.
The city council will be
disturbing the bottom of the
ponds where the midge lay
their larvae by mechanically
dragging chains across the pond
floor.
The chains will be dragged by
a boat travelling across the ponds
at a steady walking pace.
It is a control method that has
delivered promising results at
the Mangere oxidation ponds
in south Auckland, which has
also historically been plagued by
midge problems.
“At the moment the Bromley
oxidation ponds are the perfect
breeding ground for midges, so
in order to control their numbers,
we need to make the ponds
more inhospitable. We believe
that mechanically disturbing the
floor of the ponds is a quick, costeffective
way we can do that,’’
said city council three waters and
waste operations manager Adam
Twose.
“We will need to use the boat
on the ponds every 10 days for
about five hours. The result from
Mangere suggest that it should
lead to a reduction in the midge
population this summer.’’
SWARM: The midge population plaguing Aranui and Bromley will be controlled by chains which
will be dragged by a boat across the oxidation pond.
Mr Twose said longer term
there are plans to change the
engineering of the ponds so that
the inflow of treated wastewater
can be altered to create a less
hospitable environment for the
midges.
The city council is also doing
more planting around the ponds
to reduce the light from nearby
homes so that midges, which, like
moths, are naturally attracted
to light, are not drawn towards
them.
“It is going to take a while for
the plants to grow up to the point
where they make an effective
screen but in the meantime
we’re hoping we can provide
nearby residents with some
relief from the midges this
summer through the mechanical
disturbance work we’re doing,’’
Mr Twose said.
Tuesday October 23 2018
Local
News
Now
In Brief
Fire rages, homes at risk
LIQUOR STORE HEARING
The district licensing committee
is today set to hear submissions
against a proposed liquor store in
Halswell. If approved, Bottle-O
Halswell would open at 29
Ensign St, with opening hours
of 9am to 11pm daily. Halswell
Residents’ Association president
John Bennett has previously said
people he had talked to about the
application thought the area had
“enough of these establishments
in Halswell already.”
NEIGHBOURHOOD WEEK
Thirty-one community groups
and individuals received a
total of $4400 last week to
organise summer events for
‘Neighbourhood Week/Let’s
get together this summer’. The
money was granted by the
Halswell-Hornby-Riccarton
Community Board.
RĀPAKI ONE-WAY
A one-way system and no parking
zones have been proposed to
reduce parking congestion in
Rāpaki. Four streets may include
no parking zones. The one-way
system could run clockwise
through Korora Tahi Rd, Kina
Rd and Rāpaki Drive. Feedback
is open until October 30 at
www.ccc.govt.nz/the-council/
consultations-and-submissions.
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