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To: NRC + WDC

Swimmable Hātea 2020

We want you to:

Make the Hātea River swimmable by 2020.

Add this aim to the current Hātea Catchment/Otuihau Project.

Increase resources to the project so it is achievable.

Make 'swimmable' for the Hātea mean under 260 E.coli per 100mL of water, at all times, with highly publicised weekly tests showing progress.

Work to ensure all waterways within the catchment are fenced before 2020.

You have shown the intention and some action to clean up this waterway - we support the work of everyone involved, and ask you to add support for the project to ensure it succeeds.

Why is this important?

We get our drinking water from this river, and it is a taonga in the heart of our city.

It is a normal expectation for this waterway to be clean, unpolluted, and swimmable.

The people of this city want it clean, and living.

https://youtu.be/kjp9j7xMUIg

About the Hātea Catchment:

The Hātea sub catchment of the Whangārei Harbour catchment covers 4,470 hectares (15%) of the greater harbour catchment. Land cover is a mix of urban land uses (including some light industry), exotic forest, indigenous vegetation and pasture. There are no dairy farms in the catchment and most of the pasture area is in lifestyle blocks, with a handful of small (e.g. c.70ha) beef farms. There are approximately 140 properties over 1.5ha in the Otuihau / Whangārei Falls catchment with land in pasture.

The upper catchment has pine forestry, which was established originally for soil conservation purposes. Harvesting the areas in this catchment has now been completed and the next rotation has been planted. Two main streams join approximately 1km upstream of the Falls. Most of the catchment has relatively gentle rolling or flat contour and streams are mostly shallow and slow flowing, with clay streambeds.

What's the state of the Hātea right now?

The Land Air Water Aotearoa monitoring shows that the Hātea is in the worst 50% of all waterways in Northland/Tai Tokerau for E. Coli, Nitrogen, and one indicator of Phosphorus. It is in the worst quarter of all waterways for Ammoniacal Nitrogen - for which human and animal wastes are the major cause.

https://www.lawa.org.nz/explore-data/northland-region/river-quality/hatea-river/

What's being done so far?

In 2015 Northland Regional and Whangarei District Councils began to focus together on improving water quality at Otuihau. Together they formed a working group which includes representatives from both councils, community groups like Tiki Pride and the Otuihau Community Development Trust, Pehiaweri Marae and Northland District Health Board. They're working together to raise awareness of water quality issues in the Hātea catchment and how individual people can make a difference.

Why sign?

We agree with the work the councils have begun to change the water quality in the Hātea - what we are hoping to achieve with the submission of this petition is to enable this beginning to be prioiritised so it can be completed in a shorter timeframe, provide sustainable support to those who are working on the project, and set a precedent for other waterway health projects in Northland/Tai Tokerau.

How it will be delivered

In person to WDC and NRC, and as part of an Annual Plan submission in April 2018.

Whangarei, Northland, New Zealand

Maps © Stamen; Data © OSM and contributors, ODbL

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Updates

2018-01-21 17:01:38 +1300

100 signatures reached

2018-01-19 21:31:05 +1300

50 signatures reached

2018-01-19 16:28:30 +1300

25 signatures reached

2018-01-19 14:26:17 +1300

10 signatures reached