Restoring the health of our harbour and streams

Restoring the health of our harbour and streams Where have we been and where are we going?

A Strategic Outcome We have a healthy harbour and catchment Our Harbour A place to gather food A place of recreation and enjoyment Diversity of organisms A taonga Ngati Toa Health water means healthy people “I want to swim in our harbour as I did when I was a boy before I die” Helmut Modlik – CE Ngati Toa Our harbour and streams 1 November 2020

Our harbour and streams Basic facts 807 hectares – Onepoto 283 ha, Pauatahanui 524 ha About 1 m deep on average, 3 days residence time for water 287 ha of intertidal mudflats, 59 ha of sea grass 400 million cockles filter 1/3 of the water flow each day Highest density of adjacent roading of any estuary in New Zealand 80% of the margin is now seawall 290 km of first order streams Our harbour and streams 1 November 2020

History • • • Healy 1978 – a baseline 2008 – initial work raising concerns Strategy and action plan 2012 Strategy update 2015 Whaitua report Managing our estuaries - PCE Our harbour and streams 1 November 2020

How have we done? 25 years on State of the Environment Report Card 2020 Trends • Baseline health indicators for streams and the harbour are declining steadily overall • Deterioration is linked to growth – spikes in key indicators Our harbour and streams 1 November 2020

How have we done? Indicators of health • • Ongoing wastewater discharges – 4000 cfu for Onepoto E rating for freshwater quality 15000 cfu Copper and Zinc levels in estuarine muds a concern Macroalgae explosions – nitrogen and sunlight 50% decline in bird populations 98% of the saltmarsh has been removed from Onepoto and 59% in Pauatahanui 80% of the seagrass has been lost. Bathymetry survey, sediment plates, turbidity recordings Our harbour and streams 1 November 2020

• Bathymetry (radar) surveys Bathymetry survey 05 04 03 01 P 7 P 6 P 5 Our harbour and streams Site 20142019 Titahi Onepoto Papokowha i Te Onepoto Mm/yr Kakaho Horokiri Duck Creek Bradeys Bay Browns Bay -2 12 12 26 14 14 -2 10 26 1 November 2020

Our Challenges • Facing the enormity of the task we have and sorting out what is going to make the most difference • It has taken decades for the damage to take place – its going to take that long to fix • Getting other organisations on board and pulling in the same direction • Finding the funding to actually put change in place • Helping our community understand the changes they need to make in their day to day activities Our harbour and streams 1 November 2020

Does it matter? • The harbour and streams are the highest community concern in surveys and meetings • Waste water overflows should concern us – its not just sewage. o What's in wastewater? Emerging contaminants which are scary – chemicals (e. g. Triclosan), steroid hormones, endocrine disrupters, pharmaceuticals, plasticisers, microtextiles, microplastics, pathogens, viruses • Its not just the Council network – private laterals are a factor • Stormwater contaminants should also worry us. Heavy metals such as Cu, Zn, Cr do huge damage to marine species. Add organic compounds such as PAH, organophosphates, Dieldrin, and DDT to the mix and we have the makings of a contaminated site in the tidal mudflats. • Ecosystem services – people are suddenly realising that the air we breathe and water we drink and food are necessary and its our natural environment that provides it • Ecological systems here in Porirua are under significant stress Our harbour and streams 1 November 2020

Why has it been slow making a difference? KPMG Review and Ngati Toa Review • Harbour Strategy implementation was not working well • Resourcing, funding and accountability for actions set in the Action Plan in every single organisation with statutory responsibilities for harbour and stream management needed work • Our community groups are enormously frustrated at the lack of progress • However, the schools education programme was well supported Our harbour and streams

Change is in the wind Mayor Anita Baker and our CE, Wendy Walker want action Targeting areas that will make the most difference: Five key topic areas o o o Strategy and governance Regulatory changes Healthy Urban Waterways Rural and urban riparian management Community awareness and involvement Our harbour and streams 1 November 2020

Strategy and Governance • Community Outcome to planning documents: Long Term Plan, Non-asset Plan, Infrastructure Plan – a big effort this time round • A new Strategy • Working with central government o Ministry for the Environment: Freshwater Improvement Fund Team, o Department of Conservation – Partnerships Group o Parliamentary Commission for the Environment – Managing our Estuaries Report o NIWA, Landcare – science and research programme building Our harbour and streams 1 November 2020

Regulatory change Regulatory Change – giving us teeth • District Plan with harbour and streams a focus • Stormwater and Sediment Control Bylaw • Litter Control Bylaw • Solid Waste Bylaw • Infiltration and Inflow Bylaw Regulatory environment changes • Regional Natural Resources Plan - Whaitua • National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management Compliance and Enforcement • Substantial increase in staffing • Education programme Our harbour and streams

Healthy urban waterways - WWL A major investment: Strategic Case for Receiving Water Quality • Asset maintenance and renewal programme • Infiltration and Inflow (private laterals) • SMART Network • Water Sensitive Design • Wastewater Storage Our harbour and streams 1 November 2020

Riparian management Rural and urban riparian management • • Priority zones Nitrogen leaching and sediment 15 catchments Location – 100 m reaches Urban stream works Cost – site preparation, planting, maintenance 292 km Our harbour and streams 1 November 2020

Community awareness and involvement • NIWA - community monitoring programmes (Stream Health Monitoring and Assessment, Marine Metre 2 , Forest Health Monitoring, Litter Intelligence Platform, Cultural Health Indicators (Ngati Toa)) • Community group development and support programme Please join us in these activities Our harbour and streams 1 November 2020

Getting on track – positive progress How can our community get on board? • A solid start with urban and rural riparian management underway – Bill and team at Plimmerton Domain • Managing the impacts of growth – the most significant changes we can make – District plan and subsequent consents • Huge investment in wastewater and stormwater • Infiltration and inflow and water sensitive design vitally important • New community awareness and involvement programme making an impact Our harbour and streams 1 November 2020