Submission to the Nelson City Council Annual Plan 2016-2017
Date : 8 April 2016
From : Friends of the Maitai
Submission :
1) We support the intention in the draft Annual Plan to defer further work on the Maitai Path and associated Nile Street Path until 2019/20 because that will provide an opportunity for significant consultation and discussion about this very important area of riverside parkland, including rethinking the priorities between cars and bikes in this area. We believe that it is very important that the Annual Plan identifies consultation as starting at the beginning of 2017, to allow enough time for this to take place.
2) We request a limited number of interpretation panels for wildlife alongside the lower reaches of the Maitai and at other busy points on the river, to help people become familiar with the many species of fish and birds there.
3) We support the work being done by the Cawthron Institute to establish and maintain acceptable water quality levels and discharge amounts from the dam. We support secure supply and look forward to a report on acceptable usage levels. We question the need for the Waimea Community Dam based on existing usage in the Waimea plains and would prefer to see more stringent controls on the type and efficiency of present usage; two examples are : (1) irrigation in the cooler parts of the day so that evaporation is reduced and the amount of water available to plants is kept as high as possible (2) use of straw mulching helps maintain higher soil moisture.
4) We advocate the establishment of a new paradigm of forestry in the Maitai catchment, which is being significantly affected by global warming, sediment (especially fine sediment), and low flows. This would involve more rigorous resource consents, smaller cropping areas, and more varied species on different rotations. It requires five key policy actions : (1) Change forestry resource consents to reduce the amount of forestry that can be clear cut in any one year (2) Introduce stringent limits on sediment in the river (3) Include riparian strips for all secondary streams and gullies that feed into the Maitai (4) Model and advocate the planting of alternative forestry species, by using Nelson City Council forestry blocks to demonstrate the value of planting alternatives to pine (5) Continue supporting other Project Maitai/Mahitahi activities including the improvement of fish passages, development of wetlands to trap sediment, aeration of the reservoir, fixes to stormwater and sewage pipes, etc.
Prepared by David Ayre, Tom Kennedy and Alison Horn
as representatives of the Friends of the Maitai Hub Meeting