NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Super City's health check

By Catherine Masters
Property Journalist·NZ Herald·
31 Aug, 2012 05:30 PM8 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Goat Island Marine Reserve had the cleanest marine water surveyed. Photo / Supplied

Goat Island Marine Reserve had the cleanest marine water surveyed. Photo / Supplied

For the first time, Auckland residents will be able to see how their neighbourhood rates for quality of air, water and life in general. Catherine Masters checks out the details

Auckland stretches beyond Warkworth to the north and Waiuku to the south, encompasses 1800km of coastline and 60,000ha of native forest - the make-up of this huge supercity where more than a third of the country's population lives has altered with amalgamation.

"About 15 per cent of the new Auckland is urban, the rest is rural or forested," says Grant Barnes, manager of Auckland Council's research, investigations and monitoring unit.

"We're a predominantly green city now."

Barnes was speaking as the council moves to launch on Monday a series of online report cards on how well Auckland - the new, big Auckland - is doing, building on more than 30 years of monitoring data by the former councils.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

You can look up your own area on www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/stateofauckland to see how people in your neighbourhood rank their quality of life and see the state of the land, air, waterways and sea.

Barnes explains that councils are required to report the state of their environment at least every five years and that the last big report was by the former Auckland Regional Council in 2010.

After amalgamation it was decided it would be more useful for Aucklanders if the information was packaged to neighbourhoods and updated every year.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

These new report cards provide a snapshot of the state of play. Click on the Air Quality report card, for example, and you will discover in the quick facts section that there are around 300 premature deaths a year in Auckland due to air pollution and that the social cost from air pollution is estimated to be $1.07 billion every year, but, when compared to many other international cities, Auckland has relatively clean air.

You will also learn that in summer, transport is the biggest cause of air pollution but that in winter, home heating is the culprit. In winter, the amount of PM10, tiny solid and liquid particles n the air, is tripled.

Report cards are listed by type - air quality, demographic, freshwater, marine, quality of life and terrestrial - and also by local board.

So someone living in the Henderson Massey area, for example, can look up their Marine Report Card and find they have been awarded a C grade and that they get a D for their Terrestrial Report Card which is based on the amount of indigenous ecosystems, including forest, scrub, and freshwater and saltwater wetlands.

Discover more

New Zealand|politics

Hauraki Gulf: Planning for the future

24 Aug 05:30 PM
New Zealand

Councillor claims $40,000 expenses

10 Sep 05:30 PM
New Zealand|politics

Mayor turns up heat on agencies' costs

06 Nov 04:30 PM

People in this area, along with most of the region, can only look enviously at the East Coast/Devonport reporting area which gets an A grade for its Marine Report Card. Barnes says, however, the grading system is just a guide for improvement.

Take the Auckland Isthmus which scores an E for its terrestrial score. Barnes says it is not realistic to suggest this area will one day get an A.

"What we're looking to advise on is what the potential for that system would be if you were to apply all the principles of sustainability.

"You could probably take an E to a D but it's not realistic to suggest urban Auckland going from an E to an A - that means removing people from the environment and, of course, that's not realistic and not something we are championing."

The purpose of the grading system is rather to focus attention on areas of high value so that they do not degrade, he says.

"Think of it in terms of protecting your best and then improving the rest."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

With the Auckland Isthmus, for example, improvements to the stormwater and wastewater system over time will probably mean fewer wastewater overflows into the marine environment, which should reduce the amount of heavy metals making their way into the Waitemata Harbour, and the bathing/beach score should probably improve.

Though the report cards are not all good news, they help to raise awareness of environmental, social and economic factors in the place you live, says Barnes.

The council responds to the drivers and indicators which come out of programmes such as this.

"So, for instance, if you're seeing a fresh water environment that repeatedly scores low it gives an imperative for council working with communities to identify means of improving fresh water environments, so it provides the impetus for change."

The Puhinui Stream in Manukau is a good example of how the community can do its bit.

Volunteers have helped clear out all manner of junk from the stream, from fridges to shopping trolleys, and this shows what can happen when a community works in tandem with local government and non-government organisations on solving a complex problem.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The Puhinui Creek still turns up twice on the council's worst monitored sites list for freshwater ecology and Barnes admits there is much work to be done.

"It's a step in the right direction but the problems of Puhinui are symptomatic of urban streams throughout Auckland. There's a long way to go in turning those streams around."

Otaki Creek near Middlemore Hospital is bottom of the monitored list for freshwater quality and has some pretty appalling conditions but it's not entirely uncommon to find "urban detritus" thrown in streams.

This doesn't necessarily reflect the communities living around these streams, says Barnes, but is indicative of our urban lifestyles. Take another example - cars, he says.

"Cars' brakes utilise heavy metals that on wear are released on the roads and when it rains it gets picked up in the stormwater system and it ends up in the streams. Those sort of things.

"When it rains, on occasions the wastewater systems overflow and in those situations they are designed to overflow into the nearest streams."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

One of the main ways to stop this is stopping contaminants getting into the streams in the first place.

He says a successful example of this is the banning of lead additives in fuel. When they were used there were also high concentrations of lead, both soluble and insoluble, in the streams and estuaries of Auckland. Now there is not.

People can do their bit for the place where they live, he says, by being aware of how easy it is to contribute to contaminating waterways.

"One is washing your car. You wash your car on your driveway, that water goes into the stormwater system and it will discharge to the nearest stream.

"The best advice is not to wash your car on the driveway but to do it on the lawn if you're able to.

"It's those sorts of things. Your house, your property, is connected via the stormwater systems to your local stream. What you pour on your driveway will go into a stream."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

As yet there is no overall grading given for the new Auckland region as a whole. Barnes says they would like to develop one but this is fraught with technical challenges and there is a danger of oversimplification.

As a parochial Aucklander, he reckons we are definitely an A overall, but when all the grades and different intricacies of the region are taken into account, he concedes we are probably a B with plenty of room for improvement - but he says there is a clear plan of how to improve.

This is the council's Auckland Plan which is the strategy to make Auckland the world's most liveable city over the next 30 years.

Already, we have an amazing place to live, Barnes says, but we can't be complacent and we need to look after it.

"Within half an hour's drive of the CBD Aucklanders can immerse themselves in some pretty untouched, pristine environments. We are extraordinarily lucky as a city to be able to do that. Half an hour you're in the Waitakeres, in the Hunuas or you're swimming in Whangateau Harbour (Omaha) or catching snapper in the Waitemata.

"We're privileged in many respects that for a reasonably large city that we have such a great natural environment so close to us."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Check your neighbourhood

www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/stateofauckland (from Monday)

Best and worst Streams (water quality)

Cleanest: West Hoe Stream, Orewa

Dirtiest: Otaki Creek, Papatoetoe

Streams - plant/animal life

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Best: Marawhara Stream, Piha

Worst: Pakuranga Creek

Sea and coastline

Best: Goat Island, Leigh

Worst equal: Mangere Bridge, Kaipara River Mouth

Park and reserve land

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Best: Cascades Kauri Park, Waitakere Ranges

Worst: Western Springs

Based on Auckland Council-monitored sites

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

live
New Zealand

Fresh flood threat as thunderstorms, gales lash north; south braces for another deluge

10 Jul 08:04 PM
Premium
New ZealandUpdated

'A sad loss': Why this prostate cancer treatment is 'disappearing' in NZ

10 Jul 08:02 PM
New ZealandUpdated

'Give Paea a chance': Wife's tearful plea for Tongan overstayer

10 Jul 08:02 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Premium
'A sad loss': Why this prostate cancer treatment is 'disappearing' in NZ

'A sad loss': Why this prostate cancer treatment is 'disappearing' in NZ

10 Jul 08:02 PM

'It’s not the treatment that’s the problem,' a urologist says.

'Give Paea a chance': Wife's tearful plea for Tongan overstayer

'Give Paea a chance': Wife's tearful plea for Tongan overstayer

10 Jul 08:02 PM
Premium
Backers abandoned $200m Auckland Arena project over council hurdles: sources

Backers abandoned $200m Auckland Arena project over council hurdles: sources

10 Jul 08:00 PM
AI-driven exam breaches surge as schools grapple with cheating, top principal’s warning

AI-driven exam breaches surge as schools grapple with cheating, top principal’s warning

10 Jul 07:46 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP