10 April 2013
Coastal watch needed as pressures grow
Increasing pressure on Waikato’s coastal environment will need to be managed carefully, particularly on the Coromandel
Peninsula, Waikato Regional Council’s resource use and environmental monitoring committee has heard today.
Currently the council spends about $4 million a year on managing and monitoring the health of the marine environment in
the region.
Reports on coastal estuarine environments to today’s committee meeting said Thames, Whitianga and Whangamata were all
expected to grow strongly.
“In the next 30 years the population of Auckland will also have increased by one million and so the holiday population
on the Coromandel, which already swells to five times the usual size, will grow accordingly,” a report said.
The Coromandel was often referred to as the playground of the Waikato, Auckland and beyond but “increasing development
pressures” highlighted the need for its “management and protection” for a range of “economic, cultural, recreational and
environmental reasons”.
The reports said the council has a work programme underway to identify what needs to be done to protect the coastal area
in light of these increasing pressures.
Currently, harbour and catchment plans are in place for Whangamata and Wharekawa, and one is under development for
Tairua and Pauanui. These plans are designed to reduce sediment and nutrients from getting into the coastal marine area
where they can degrade water quality and harm aquatic life. This can have a negative impact on tourism.
The council is also closely monitoring the environmental impacts of land-based activities, such as farming and forestry,
in the southern Firth of Thames and Raglan Harbour on the west coast. Tairua-Pauanui monitoring is due to start next
financial year. This monitoring will provide the council with information on changes in the marine environment and help
determine future work programmes.
The council has been putting in place resource consent conditions to ensure that discharges into the sea from stormwater
systems and wastewater treatment plants are of a high standard. Consent conditions covering activities such as farming,
forestry and industry are also designed to help protect the marine environment. For example, discharges from outlets
such as factories and wastewater plants into the Waihou River, which flows into the Firth of Thames, have been
significantly reduced over the last 10 years.
The reports indicated the council should ideally be able to do more management and monitoring work over time and that
this could be considered as more funding became available.
“A lot of work is being done in co-operation with other agencies to plan for the way we will manage the coastal
environment going into the future,” said coast and marine programme manager Dr Peter Singleton.
“Staff will provide further information to councillors on potential work programmes once the joint planning we’re doing
points a clearer way ahead.”
The committee agreed that looking at the question of more funding for future work in this area was warranted.
Committee chair Lois Livingston said after the meeting that the information presented in the reports highlighted
significant economic, environmental and recreational issues.
“We all know our coastal spaces are valuable environments in their own right and provide important economic and
recreational benefits to our communities, and those of neighbouring regions.
“Given the growth being anticipated in our coastal communities, and the growing populations of cities like Auckland and
Hamilton, it will be crucial to ensure we do what we can to protect our coasts.”
The Waikato Regional Council
The council’s area extends from the Bombay Hills in the north to Mt Ruapehu in the south, and from the mouth of the
Waikato River to Mokau on the west coast, across to the Coromandel Peninsula on the east.
The region contains nationally important electricity generation facilities, an internationally significant dairy sector
and iconic natural features, such as Lake Taupo, which are key tourist attractions.
The council has three key strategic goals:
• The values of land and water resources are sustained across the region
• The people of the region collaborate to achieve a shared vision of the Waikato competing globally, caring
locally
• The Waikato Regional Council meets its legislative co-governance requirements by working together in good faith
and a spirit of co-operation
Our wide-ranging responsibilities include:
• sustainable management of natural and physical resources, including pest control.
• planning regional growth and transport, and providing bus services.
• civil defence, emergency response, navigation safety, dam safety, flood management, erosion control and road
safety.
Visit us on Facebook www.facebook.com/waikatoregion
ENDS