Meola Creek and Local Body By-Election
meolacreek March 18th, 2009
STEPS is pleased to note that the City Vision Team included “Cleaning up polluted creeks such as Meola Creek and Oakley Creek” on their election pamphlet.
Archive for the 'Politics' Category
National Fresh Water Management Policy
Liz January 27th, 2009
The Ministry of Environment is developing objective and policies for managing New Zealand’s freshwater resources. See http://www.mfe.govt.nz/rma/central/nps/consultation/index.html
STEPS has joined with Friends of Oakley Creek to make a submission to ensure that the plight of urban streams is recognised and appropriate actions considered. The submission is attached.
STEPS DISAPPOINTED IN AUCKLAND CITY STORMWATER INFRASTRUCTURE CUTS
Liz November 12th, 2008
It is hard to believe that Auckland City is reducing spending on critical infrastructure projects. Waste water infrastructure is a fundamental need of cities. Auckland is clearly not going to meet it’s ‘BIG CITY BASELINE’ in this area – which is critical to the health and well being of Aucklanders.
“One project sure to disappoint Aucklanders is an $86 million cut in
stormwater spending that will almost certainly result in waste overflows
continuing at St Heliers and other city beaches for years longer than
planned.”
link:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article…cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10542482
Press Release
Liz October 24th, 2008
St Lukes Environmental Protection Society is asking Mt Albert candidates in the 2008 General Election to state their plans to deal with lack of sewerage infrastructure in Auckland, and the threats posed to Meola Creek – the largest catchment on the Auckland isthmus.
Currently Auckland City is making a decision on a Resource Consent application by Housing New Zealand (HNZC) to add another 22 units beside the creek. HNZC plan to move Meola Creek and build a concrete access way over it. In addition, they plan to fence off the existing creek bed behind a secure fence, and limit access for the public.
Meola Creek is an historic waterway running through the heart of the Mt Albert electorate, from Owairaka-Mt Albert to Te Tokaroa-Meola Reef and Waitemata Harbour. The creek and the reef play an important role in Maori oral history and tradition, and are enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of Aucklanders.
However many studies show that the creek is highly polluted and a public health risk – especially around its headwaters on the slopes of Mt Albert. The creek itself and the estuary by Meola Reef are continually degraded by zinc contaminated stormwater, and sewage overflows which have already seriously reduced wild life in the creek and aquatic life in Waitemata Harbour beside Meola Reef.
“It seems that many government bodies are ignoring the plight of Meola Creek and other urban creeks in Auckland,” says Pat Prescott, STEPS chair person. “Maori women used to gather watercress here in the 1970s, yet now we are told the creek is too dangerous for our volunteers to plant its banks, or for schools to measure water quality.”
“We want more effective planning protection for the creek, and government support for the urgently needed new waste water interceptor by Watercare Services. We are also very disappointed that Housing Corp have not consulted iwi or local groups, and have ignored the objections of our Kura Kaupapa. At present we see little in the district plan to protect our last few creeks.”
“We think that leadership is needed from central government. Although we are working with Auckland City, Metrowater, ARC and Watercare Services, no one has overall responsibility. We need an integrated plan with some positive long-term actions to counter a century of neglect and damage. We would like to see central government as part of the solution, working with us to restore the creek. All we want is clean water in our creek.”
ARC to monitor Meola Creek
Liz September 22nd, 2008
On 16 September 2008, we were advised by Judith Bassett, ARC Councillor that ARC has thoroughly discussed STEPS concerns about Meola Creek. These concerns were first raised with ARC when Judith and ARC officers were invited to present to us on 20 Sept 2007. They have been followed by a recent letter from the Eden Albert Community Board, (see previous blog post), and also concern from STEPS that ARC provided a non-notifed resource consent allowing Housing NZ to move the creek bed above Haverstock Rd – in advance of the hearings for ACC resource consents.
ARC will follow up the letter to Watercare asking about their priorities and management of the stream.
Auckland Regional Councillors have also advised council officers that:
- STEPS concern is not limited to sewage but to other contaminants as well.
-
They must determine where the stream should be and where the
“overland flow path” is meant to be. -
They must also consider concerns about Meola Reef, (where Meola Creek discharges to the Witemata Harbour)
-
The most practical thing requested was a process of regular monitoring to establish a baseline as you asked us to do. Relying on complaints is no good.
- Once the baseline is established we can have a systematic monitoring process to try to find out what is really happening to the stream and whether Watercare can do more to mitigate
the adverse effects.
Community Board Works on Meola Creek
Liz September 22nd, 2008
Eden Albert Community Board has written to ARC to ask them to manage Meola Creek in accordance with their Regional Policy Statement (RPS)…
The notice of motion is available as a PDF here.
An extract from EACB minutes is attached. Full minutes from 27 Aug are at: http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/council/members/boardmeetings/edenalbert/m20080827.asp
When is a creek not a creek?
Liz September 15th, 2008
In the case of Meola – it is not a creek when Housing NZ applied to Auckland Regional Council (ARC) for consent to cut off the meander at the top of the creek behind 96 Haverstock Rd. ARC chose to grant an UNNOTIFIED consent for Housing NZ to straighten the creek and build a concrete wall and lane over the creek bed as a permitted activity in a watercourse. So – by the time the Auckland City Council (ACC) public hearings for HNZ development of 41 units were held 2 months later – HNZ and ARC had already decided the creek’s fate. City Councillor Glenda Fryer has contacted ARC Chairman Mike Lee on behalf of the local community to ask how this happened.
We were pleased that the Kura Kaupapa in Haverstock Rd and the Environmental Network at Hort Research (who have planted around the wetland above the creek) joined STEPS and other submitters in raising concerns at the ACC Hearings in September. See attached JPG photos of the creek bed and the plantings above it done by the Environmental Network.
Our thanks to Community Board Chair Chris Dempsey – who appeared as a witness for STEPS and Meola Creek at the ACC Hearings. We await the decision from the hearings.
Meola Creek bed
4 months after Streamside planting June 2008
Work planned to ease Meola Creek pollution
meolacreek May 13th, 2008
Auckland City Council
Media release
9 May 2008
A programme of works is to be developed to help mitigate the impacts of sewer overflows into Meola Creek. The City Development Committee heard that a long-term solution under consideration by Watercare, the installation of a new interceptor main, is not likely to be operational for about five to 10 years. In the meantime, the committee has asked the council, Metrowater and Watercare to move ahead with initiatives to minimise the problem.
Works would be aimed at:
- protecting the health and safety of the community as far as possible, with fencing, signage and public warnings
- raising the footpath along Meola Creek between the two overflow sites
- roofing over the Lyon Avenue overflow
- improved screens at overflows to reduce the quantity of clearly visual material
- diversion of some stormwater to ground soakage where practical
- improving the creek habitat.
A report to the committee noted that 80 per cent of the overflows came from Watercare sewers, with most from sewers at Lyon Avenue and Haverstock Road.
About 40 per cent of the Meola catchment is served by combined sewers. Currently, Metrowater is conducting sewer separation works in the Motions catchment and this will take nearly all Metrowater’s sewer separation budget for the next three years. Committee chairperson Councillor Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga said that all the agencies were acutely aware of the unpleasant side effects of sewage overflows. “The trunk system was installed about 100 years ago and our population has simply outgrown its capacity,” he said. “The issue is not just to accommodate the existing need but to future proof the system for new growth and that is a hugely expensive and time consuming process.”
For further information, please contact:
Councillor Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga, chairperson, City Development Committee
ph 927 209 7562
Email: cr.lotu-iiga@aucklandcity.govt.nz
