This report provides a comprehensive summary of water quality and ecology data generated
from monthly water quality and annual ecology sampling of ten urban stream sites within the Kaipātiki Local Board area.
The monitoring sites are:
Wairau Creek, Eskdale Stream, Castleton Creek, Little Shoal Bay, Kahika Creek, Bayview Stream, Kaipātiki Stream, Smiths Bush, Soldiers Bay Stream, Chelsea Stream, Onepoto Stream, Upstream Awataha and Downstream Awataha.
Key findings from the report include:
All sites fail to comply with relevant water quality guidelines for E. coli, dissolved oxygen, water clarity, total and acid soluble copper and total nitrogen.
Most sites (except Soldiers Bay Stream) also fail to comply with water quality guidelines for total and acid soluble zinc, nitrogen oxides and total phosphorus.
In some good news, fish monitoring reveals that most sites have good to excellent fish fauna.
We recommend reading the full report if you have time, particularly the discussion (page 38) and recommendations sections (page 41).
If you are short on time, the report authors made the following recommendations:
Continued monitoring to ensure greater statistical power in the analysis of these streams
A study of stream catchment pressures to help determine why some sites have particularly good or poor water quality
Sanitary surveys for Wairau Creek and Onepoto Stream to establish if sewage cross connection repairs are required to improve water quality in these catchments
Fish pass surveys for the Kaipātiki Creek, Chelsea Stream and Awataha stream to identify any potential fish barriers
Further investigations are required to formulate appropriate mitigation methods for Onepoto, Eskdale, Chelsea and Bayview Streams
A targeted storm event sampling regime for the upper and lower Chelsea Stream, Bayview Stream and Awataha Stream to determine whether suspended sediment inputs to these streams could be contributing to poor ecosystem health
The use of rain tanks on all properties within the Kaipātiki Local Board Area to ensure that stormwater first flush effects on aquatic ecosystems are minimised.
Specific recommendations for Awataha Stream:
Augment the stream flow with groundwater recharge to prevent the site turning into stagnant pools in summer
Create a wetland near the true right bank and divert all stormwater discharges to the wetland.
If you are keen to learn how to monitor and better protect our water and all the native creatures that call it home, check out our ‘Streamcare Kaipātiki’ collaboration.