Lake Kaniere Septic Tanks Under Scrutiny As Subdivision Grows
The deep, glacial lake south of Hokitika is the source of the town's water supply.
The prospect of contamination from septic tanks was raised earlier this year by the council's Management chair Brett Cummings.
And iwi rep Jackie Douglas (Ngati Maahaki; Makaawhio) asked if the council had any reports on Kaniere, given growing development in the area.
Council staff who monitor the lake for invasive weeds and for E. coli in the swimming season have reported bacteria levels rising sometimes after heavy rain.
But a recent survey carried out at the councillors' request has shown Lake Kaniere is in good health, Environmental Science manager Shanti Morgan told the July meeting of the council's Resource Management committee.
'We identified some areas where we want to do some more intensive sample monitoring to track the influence of increased development around certain parts of the lake. We can provide that to you in the quarterly update. '
Ms Douglas said she had gone out on Lake Kaniere with council staff when they sampled the water at key points and was happy with the results.
'We had a really good look at Hans Bay and Sunny Bight…the science team is able to follow up to ensure we don't see problems in the future or they can be easily identified.'
Buller councillor Chris Coll said he was fascinated to hear that the water quality was unaffected.
'What happens if it starts to change? With the town water supply coming from there, if E.coli started showing up, how would you reverse it? ' he asked.
Cr Cummings said that had been a problem at Punakaiki when run-off from an old septic tank was putting E. coli into the lagoon.
'They traced it back and found out what was going on – it's important to monitor, though Lake Kaniere is a whole lot bigger than Punakaiki lagoon,' he said.
Ms Morgan said the council's compliance team could check out any issues with septic tanks but the Westland District Council was also monitoring the water independently, under the (national ) drinking water guidelines.
Westland mayor Helen Lash told LDR the council was very much aware of the new subdivision activity in the hills around Lake Kaniere and was considering the potential risks.
'It's causing a bit of angst; more sections are appearing and it has been brought to our notice. Once you have an issue, how do you clean it up? '
The council might have to bring in additional testing, to be sure the water quality was beyond reproach, Mrs Lash said.
'All our water supplies are chlorinated, so there is a safeguard there, but we need to keep a close eye out for possible incremental effects and be sure the new septic systems are all top quality. Though it's more likely any problems would stem from the old ones. '
The Regional Council monitors West Coast lakes along with DOC and Manawa Energy, as part of its obligations under the National Policy Statement on freshwater, using submerged plant life as a health indicator.
The surveillance programme detects invasive aquatic weeds but the report tabled this month shows mainly native vegetation in Lake Kaniere, with no signs of deterioration in its ecology.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
18 hours ago
- RNZ News
Hawke's Bay fires: Fine criticised as ‘economic incentive to burn'
Smoke from fires burning in the Longlands area, in Hastings, exceeded the National Environmental Standard for air quality. Photo: Rex Graham / LDR A fine given to a person for starting a smoky burn-off near Hastings is being described by an advocate as giving them "an economic license to burn". The fire in the Longlands area on July 27 was judged to have been a breach of Hawke's Bay Regional Council airshed rules and led to a $300 fine. On the same day, a National Environmental Standard air pollution breach was recorded in Hastings, of 51 micrograms of particulate matter per cubic metre. The limit is 50 micrograms. Photo: Former Hawke's Bay Regional Council chairman Rex Graham, who regularly sends photos to the Hawke's Bay Regional Council, captured an image of smoke drifting across Longlands and said it was one of the worst he'd seen. "$300 is not a deterrent. It's actually an economic incentive to burn," Graham said. "I rang the Pollution hotline. This was one of the worst examples of air pollution that I have seen this year, which is saying something considering the extent of this activity," Graham said. "This fire was in blatant disregard and abuse of our community's air quality and the law. "The smoke was drifting towards Hastings, completely covering the entire region between Railway Rd and Havelock North," Graham said. "It was difficult to drive on Riverslea Rd heading back into Hastings due to limited visibility." Hawke's Bay Regional Council said its pollution response team investigated a complaint regarding smoke in the Longlands Rd area on July 27. "As a result of that investigation, enforcement action has been taken and a $300 fine issued." HBRC compliance manager Matt Wilkinson said it was frustrating that the council's ability to deter this behaviour was constrained by the fines set at a national level. "But we acknowledge the changes made by the government, coming into effect in September, which lifts the infringement fines to $600 for individuals or $1200 for companies as a move in the right direction of discouraging burning in or near airsheds." Graham said those planned increases were not high enough and would still encourage fires to save money. Air pollution records published in Hawke's Bay Today on Friday, August 8, show the National Environment Standard air quality was also exceeded in Hastings on July 26 (54 micrograms). In a twelve-month period in 2023-2024, HBRC received approximately 80 complaints of burning during winter. More than 70 infringement fines were issued. Orchard burn-offs are allowed under the Regional Air Quality rules, but they must meet specific conditions. Christian Jirkowsky moved from Austria to Hawke's Bay in 2007 and has more than 30 years experience in the power and heat generation sector, where wood, biomass, and fossil fuels are utilised for energy production. Jirkowsky said it was scientifically proven that even brief exposure to fine particles (PM 2.5 and PM1) and aerosols emitted from open wood burning increases the risk of non-accidental and respiratory-related fatalities. "This is why most developed countries have banned open burning and apply severe consequences for violations," he said. "Wood smoke exposure induces airway irritation, causes lung damage, and substantially increases the likelihood of developing asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and heart attacks," Jirkowsky said. An airshed is a legally designated air-quality management area. In New Zealand, regional councils and unitary authorities have identified areas to be managed as airsheds for the national environmental standards for air quality. The majority of airsheds may have levels of pollutants that exceed the national environmental standards for air quality. Some airsheds are also identified based on factors such as: the number of people living in the airshed now or in the future, unique weather patterns and geography and local air emissions, such as local industrial activity, which need to be specifically considered and managed. HBRC says airshed rules exist because smoke from backyard fires in urban areas, though they may seem minor, adds up quickly. On cold, still days, it lingers and affects air quality. "If everyone lit backyard fires, it would quickly become a serious pollution issue. These rules help protect our whānau and community from the harmful health effects of smoke, especially in winter when it gets trapped close to the ground." LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
1News
6 days ago
- 1News
Land opened up to build shared housing for older residents
A social housing initiative — described as ''like flatting for older people'' — is a step closer to becoming a reality in North Canterbury. The Waimakariri District Council agreed to enter into an agreement to support and provide land for an Abbeyfields house to be built in Rangiora, at a meeting on Tuesday. An Abbeyfields house offers supported housing for single older people of limited means. Addressing the council meeting, Abbeyfield Waimakariri Incorporated chairperson Valda Reveley said it was "like flatting for older people". She said granting the lease would allow her organisation to get on with raising the funds it needed to build the house. ADVERTISEMENT "It will be a one-storey house and, from the road, it will look like the surrounding houses – only bigger. "We call it a house, but it will be a home for those who don't have many options." The concept was a large house with 12 to 14 studio units, a shared living room, dining room, laundry and, often, gardens. Residents could share meals together and connect with each other. The trust would employ a housekeeper and a cook to prepare the meals, but it would otherwise be run by volunteers. Deputy Mayor Neville Atkinson, the council's housing portfolio holder, said entering into the agreement was "a huge step forward". "We have been told about the needs of social housing many times and we have a role to play in looking after those in need in our community and by enabling people to look after social housing." ADVERTISEMENT Atkinson said he and Mayor Dan Gordon had visited the Abbeyfields house in Hornby, Christchurch, and were impressed with what they saw. Gordon said the council should support social housing initiatives such as Abbeyfields and a recent initiative to provide shared housing for women. "Why wouldn't we be looking after people in our community at a time in their life when they most need it? "Not everyone can afford to go to a Ryman or another model." Councillor Niki Mealings said the council already provided older person's housing, and by working in partnership with Abbeyfields, it could provide housing "with no additional cost to ratepayers". Councillor Tim Fulton said the partnership was an example of the council enabling people to do "what they do best". The council had been working with the community to support the establishment of an Abbeyfields house in Waimakariri for the past four years, as part of its efforts to address housing shortages in the district. Under the agreement, the council would enter into a 33-year lease with Abbeyfield Waimakariri Incorporated to lease a site in Kingsbury Ave, Rangiora. LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
Scoop
23-07-2025
- Scoop
Damned Either Way: West Coast Business Owner On River Threat
An Okarito businessman says the risk that the famous lagoon and its wildlife will be wiped out by the Waiho River is just one of many environmental risks his South Westland community lives with. Okarito Kayaks owner Barry Hughes says he had a sleepless night after reading comments yesterday [Tuesday] by Westland mayor Helen Lash, about the potential threat to Lake Mapourika and ultimately Okarito, as the unruly Waiho pushes into the nearby Tartare River. 'But I don't believe at this point there is much that can be done about it. This isn't something we can control – this is nature, and on the list of threats to living here from the natural environment, this is only one of them.' Mrs Lash says a $2.8 million stopbank extension planned to protect her council's sewerage plant will do nothing to stop the Waiho River heading right, threatening State Highway 6, powerlines, farmland, and nearby lakes. The Westland mayor has suggested the Regional Council should try to steer the wild river away from the north bank and the Tartare by bulldozing a deep channel or gut down the middle of its sprawling bed. Mr Hughes, who has served on the West Coast Conservation Board, says all the reports on the Waiho over the years conclude 'river training' as it is known, would in the end be futile. 'It's just not physically possible to confine that river to its bed given the rate of aggradation. The modelling showed we'd have to build walls 14 metres higher by 2050 if we wanted to try. And there is not enough rock in all of South Westland to do that." The West Coast Regional Council's plan to shore up existing stopbanks, hold the line for the next ten years, then gradually release the river to the south over its natural flood plain was the realistic option, long-term, Mr Hughes said. The Waiho's avulsion into the Tartare had become rapid at the end of last year, switching focus from the at-risk south bank to the north, he said. 'There's ecological threats there but also threats to road access alongside Lake Mapourika - there's nowhere else for State Highway 6 to go and that has to be a concern for NZTA." 'I think no matter what's done there, someone is going to be damned so to speak - damned if they do and damned if they don't. ' Accepting risk - including the risk that his kayak business would be wiped out by flood – or the overdue Alpine Fault rupture -was just part of living on the West Coast, Mr Hughes said. 'It's a choice - both a threat and an opportunity. If you think about why people come here it's because of this incredible natural environment. 'But that's created by this rapidly changing geo-morphological landscape - the rising river beds, the rising mountains, the receding glaciers." 'It's a large reason why we're here at Okarito. We're going to wrap up warm and go and sit out on the beach tonight and have a fire with a bunch of local kids all sitting around – there's not that many places you can still do that." The West Coast Regional Council has been approached for comment.
