Horizons river conditions improve or stay static

Planting a native tree at Papaiti for World Rivers Day are the Wylie children (from left): Graceyn, 10, 14-year-old Amelia and Jacob, 11. Photo/Bevan Conley

Results from monitoring in the large Horizons region show most rivers are either improving or not showing any particular change trend.

The results have appeared on the Land, Air, Water Aotearoa website, www.lawa.org.nz, to coincide with World Rivers Day. They cover the 10 years to 2013.

Across the Horizons region, 44 per cent of sites monitored are showing less nitrogen in the water over that time, and 53 per cent are showing less phosphorus. The rest show no significant trends, either of improvement or degradation. The site showing the most improvement is on the Oroua River at the Awahuri Bridge. It has improved for phosphorus, bacteria, clarity and turbidity.

That improvement is the result of a combined effort, Horizons' science manager Dr Jon Roygard said.

The work includes fencing and planting waterways on farms, effluent management and upgrades to the Kimbolton and Feilding wastewater treatment plants. Some of it was part of the Manawatu Freshwater Clean-up project.

Horizons chairman Bruce Gordon said it was good news that the council was on the right track overall, but there was still plenty of work to be done.

Half of Horizons' 200 staff were out yesterday, working on riverbanks to mark World Rivers Day. At Papaiti, the Wylie children and their mother joined five Horizons staff members and councillor Rod Pearce at a spot near Mosquito Point.

The group worked on a planting of native trees that the council did five years ago, environmental co-ordinator Clare Ridler said. The trees were doing well, and the workers filled in gaps, cleared weeds away and trimmed lower branches to stop the larger trees collecting debris during floods.

Larger groups of Horizons staff members planted many more trees at Te Rimu Rd, near the Mangawhero River, and on the banks of the Rangitikei River, near Sanson. For full monitoring results, see www.lawa.org.nz