Sediment seminars aim to better protect water

About 50 Northland contractors and consultants are attending a series of Whangarei-based seminars designed to better protect the region’s waterways from harmful sediment runoff.

Franco Meyer, an Environmental Monitoring Officer with the Northland Regional Council, says although soil is a natural substance, few people realise it has long been one of the most serious and common pollutants of Northland’s waterways.

For that reason, under both the Resource Management Act and the regional council’s Water and Soil Plan, people have a legal obligation to minimise/manage sediment discharges.  Those found breaching the rules risk penalties ranging from $750 ‘instant fines’ to prosecution.

After a number of incidents involving unauthorised sediment discharges, the regional council in 2010 began offering a series of day-long seminars to help bring people up to speed on the rules and the latest sediment control methods.

The seminars are held annually during winter and Mr Meyer says the council is already noticed pleasing and significant improvements in the way earthworks are being managed in the region.

Mr Meyer says the latest seminars began yesterday and are also being held today and tomorrow with an estimated 50 participants in total paying $250 each to take part.

He says as part of the training, participants are also undertaking visits to the construction site for the Whangarei District Council’s new Hatea Bridge crossing in Whangarei.

“This is a great example of sediment and control measures which have been installed correctly and are working well, despite the very large scale of the works and the recent wet weather.  They’re a credit to the contractors Transfield and McConnell Dowell.”

Mr Meyer says nationally, more than 200 million tonnes of soil is lost every year to the ocean, with Northland believed to contribute significantly towards that figure.

“Our high rainfall, diverse soil types and typography means sediment runoff can be more of a problem here than many other parts of New Zealand.”

Mr Meyer says when not controlled properly, sediment can not only affect water quality and the creatures living in the region’s waterways, it can also silt up estuaries and harbours and smother shellfish and eelgrass beds.

“Soil particles can also carry nutrients like phosphate (which can be detrimental to waterways in large enough amounts) and potentially carry harmful micro-organisms.”

Mr Meyer says people interested in learning more about sediment control can contact him at the council, on 0800 002 004 or visit the council’s website www.nrc.govt.nz/soilerosion