Waterway health and Adopt A Drain
Our friends at WAI Wānaka work tirelessly for local water health and educating the community about water health and quality issues such as stormwater run off, ecosystem monitoring and water pollution events.
Their Adopt A Drain program aims to educate and provide local groups, businesses and households the opportunity to ‘adopt a drain’ in the name of reducing stormwater pollution in our local area. The reality is that drains are waterways just like streams are, and anything that goes down a drain ends up in our streams, rivers and lakes; pollutants include chemical cleaners, sediment, pesticides and heavy metals and pathogens like E.coli.
We appreciate the work of WAI and know how important it is to protect our waterways, such as those found along the Bullock Creek environs, for the benefit of the ecosystem as a whole and for us humans within the larger ecosystem, being able to enjoy and care for our waterways for generations to come.
To check out and support the work of WAI Wānaka, check out the following links:
You can do your bit by:
Reporting water pollution to Otago Regional Council- 24/7 hotline 0800 800 033 or complete the Report Pollution form on their website
Wash your car on the lawn, not on the road
Get involved in local water health initiatives like our weekly wetland restoration volunteer days at Bullock Creek or events regularly run by WAI focusing on education, clean-ups and water quality monitoring
Donate to FOBC and WAI to help us continue our important mahi
Check out Otago Catchment Community Inc who help support a network of catchment groups in our broader region, including generously funding some of our work here at FOBC
Check out Otago Regional Council for everything you need to know about water care
References
https://niwa.co.nz/freshwater/stormwater-management/stormwater-introduction
https://waiwanaka.nz/actions/our-drains-are-streams/
https://waiwanaka.nz/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Summary-of-M.-Vermeulens-work.pdf