Silt Barriers Coming to Pukekura Park

Work begins on Monday (8 October) to improve the water quality of Pukekura Park’s lakes.

The first stage of the project is in the TSB Bowl of Brooklands lake where a forebay – a small dam-like structure – will be built in the lake itself.

The lake’s water level is being lowered to enable the forebay’s construction, says Curator Pukekura Park Chris Connolly.

“The forebay will sit below the water when the lake is refilled so it won’t be seen by the public, but it will trap silt from the Maranui Gully stream and stop it from entering the park’s lake system,” he says.

“We’ll also take this opportunity to dig some sediment out of the Bowl lake.”

A study of Pukekura Park’s 38 springs and four streams found that the Maranui Gully, Kaimata and Struan Walkway streams carry a lot of sediment into the park’s lake system. By trapping the sediment before it reaches the lakes, the water quality will improve for the benefit of wildlife and visitors.

Stage one will take about a month to complete, and stage two will begin in early November once the Powerco Taranaki Garden Festival is finished.

The second stage involves building a wetland along Struan Walkway, on the other side of Brooklands Road from the park, which will drain into the Truby King Dell pond.

Additionally, a diversion will be built so that the Kaimata Stream, which is just within Pukekura Park’s boundary, will flow into the dell pond as well. Sediment from both streams will be trapped in the pond for regular removal.

“The Struan Walkway stream is particularly silty so we need both the wetland and the dell pond to manage that load,” says Mr Connolly.

The stage two works will take about two months to complete.