"Wading in waste"

This is the title of an excellent article by Michael Mallin in the June 2006 issue of Scientific American, a popular science magazine with international distribution. Mallin has been looking at how urban development affects coastal water quality. Here are some key statements, with my comments added:

"Thanks to unchecked development along America's coasts, disease-causing microbes are increasingly fouling beaches and shellfish beds" Note: although we have a marine reserve at Long Bay and Okura, some people will always be taking and eating some shellfish; all that can be achieved by prohibition is a degree of protection for the shellfish, and for the consumers of shellfish from polluted waters.

"Smart growth strategies can restore polluted coastlines and provide economic benefits as well... the adoption of reasonable controls on coastal development would safeguard the shoreline economy as much as it would protect the public's health" Unfortunately, the claimed benefits of the Great Park proposal for Long Bay and Okura have never been subject to serious economic analysis, so the competing plan of quick and easy profit from more housing development remains the default plan for economic development on the North Shore.

After development as usual, "the resulting landscape is dominated by impervious surfaces - parking lots, roads, and sidewalks. When it rains, storm water runoff from these surfaces can carry animal feces and their accompanying microbes into drainage ditches that lead directly to lakes, streams and beaches"..."Urban and suburban watersheds receive a steady influx of manure from domestic animals such as dogs and cats.."

The author makes many practical suggestions, many of which are already beginning to be practised in New Zealand. Whatever developments do proceed at Long Bay and Okura should follow the best possible procedures, and should be up for public debate before actions are taken. With suitable support, the East Coast Bays Coastal Protection Society could be more active in monitoring furture plans and developments at Long Bay and Okura.

Diggers in at Beach Road

An eyewitness report this morning: the diggers are in at the Beach Road where a new road has been laid out in the council map of "Proposed Variation 66, Appendix 10".

Although the Structure Plan is still to be discussed further in court, it seems like a pre-emptive attack is underway. The proposed route will cross one of the last wetlands on the coast of North Shore City, potentially intersecting with underground archaeological remains that have not been detected in surface surveys.

Some of the greatest treasures of Maori wood carving and architecture have been found in wetland sites, in other parts of New Zealand, so care should be taken during any excavation for a road across the Long Bay (Awaruku) wetland.

Council acts on climate change?!

The North Shore City Council (April 7. 2006) has reported its concern about climate change: "We’re taking seriously what a number of experts are saying. Its no understatement to say that the preservation of planet earth is at stake,” said Mr Wood, the North Shore City Mayor.

Co-op comment: It easy to talk about climate change as a global problem, but what is the reality going to be for a coastal city like the North Shore?

Sea-level rise appears to be inevitable, since green-house gas emissions are not being stopped, they are only being slowed down slightly. Communities located at close to sea level will face huge infrastructure costs to rebuild sea-walls and storm-water outlet systems. At some point people will have to relocate.

It could be argued that some part of the Great Park should serve as a land bank, so that people can relocate more easily within the same city. When the Browns Bay community is flooded, or becomes an estuary, it could be added to the coastal park, and receive land on the hills in exchange.