Plan for Meola & Motions Creeks and Volcanic Aquifer

October 1st, 2017

 Te Tatua-a-Riukiuta Aquifer and the Waititiko – Waiateao Creeks

Inspired by the commitment of the Puketapapa Local Board to Te Auanga Oakley Creek, we joined with the Weona walkway community group and approached Albert Eden Local Board regarding protection and enhancement of Meola and Motions Creeks. We  proposed that the AELB annual plan include a vision for  both creeks, for Council and Community groups to work towards. We have asked Puketapapa and Waitemata Boards also to contribute as key landmarks such as Te Tokaroa Meola Reef, Western Springs and Three Kings all play a major role in the Meola-Motions natural landscape.

Our catchments our the largest on the isthmus and have many different communities of interest.  Both streams have poor water quality.  Over centuries they have been cut up 

by public works including national roads and other infrastructure; stormwater and wastewater from whole suburbs disappears,  surfacing several kilometres away in local parks like Kerr Taylor reserve. The map shows Motions and Meola catchments in yellow, and the underlying aquifer in pink.

We are entering a time of great change with a $1 billion central Interceptor and Chamberlain Park projects causing landscape changes.  We feel the community needs a ‘big picture’, partly to provide a background for the community work between Watercare and Meola Forum on Meola catchment changes from Central Interceptor. We also felt it could boost recognition of the need for a (formal and informal) mountain to sea path way to connect communities for cyclists and walkers.

Here is our draft plan.  Please read it and let us know what you would add or change. We welcome your input.  Waititiko – Waiateao Vision

[Contributing Authors: Jeanette Budgett (Unitec Institute of Technology), Sandra Anderson (University of Auckland). With thanks for contributions from Sharon Eccleshall, Andrew Mackintosh, Nick Goldwater and others.]

We look forward to progressing this plan and vision for the community.

Washing greens in the creek…

September 24th, 2017

This lady is washing large bunches of newly collected greens in Meola Creek. She did not speak English and did not understand messages of danger. We hope she and her family stay well.
Meola Creek receives approximately 1 million cubic meters of untreated sewage and road runoff every year. That is more than 1 Olympic Swimming pool of polluted water every day on average. We wrote to Skykiwi (a Chinese language web site) to seek their help in explaining this to some immigrants. The site she chose has several pieces of plastic and other rubbish visible in the water, though the water seemed clear on that day. 
With intensification and immigration gathering pace in Auckland, we believe Council needs to find better ways of informing non-English speakers that Auckland parks are not pristine places where resources are there for the taking.
Auckland Council is aware that Aucklanders strongly disagree with their waste disposal approach. We have asked that they put money into the Auckland Plan refresh and long term plan to remedy it, and we hope this will happen at some future date.
This is a case where the image of ‘clean green NZ’ comes up against the reality of Auckland’s heritage sewerage system. We do not believe this should be left to future generations to solve.

Pourewa Stream links

September 24th, 2017

Orakei Local Board Chair Carmel Claridge took a walk with us in August.

Carmel has been working closely with STEPS Patron Roy Clements as they improved the Pourewa stream over the past few years, and she is standing here with Pat Prescott at the sign for the Roy Clements Treeway.  Carmel also Chairs the Friends of Pourewa Valley http://www.pourewavalley.org/.

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