Stormwater remedial works deferred for 7 years!

As you maybe aware, FOBC recently submitted on the QLDC Annual Plan which has proposed the deferral of $6M Stormwater remedial works for a period of 7 years.    Please feel free to read our full submission here - QLDC Draft Annual Plan  But in summary, FOBC has submitted that:

"Deferring investment in the Stone Street stormwater upgrades as proposed in the QLDC Draft Annual Plan 2023 – 2024 is offloading past generational financial liability as a result of consented regulatory failure, to future governing bodies; and creates an unjustifiable legacy for future generations. 

The ecological health of Roy’s Bay and the tributary creeks will continue to decline with no redress, and the financial and social wellbeing of segments of our community will be impacted. Investment in upgrading the stormwater infrastructure now would enable protection of Lake Wanaka and Bullock Creek, and prevent another seven years of degradation. This timely investment would support the objective of being committed to Te Man o Te Wai, and complying with the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management. 

Friends of Bullock Creek request that not only is this deferral of $ 6 million for the Stone Street Storm Water upgrade within the Draft Annual Plan 2023 – 2024 reversed, but a further $4 million is added to this sum to ensure that the upgrades are carried out in an expedient manner and supported by robust analysis to reflect the value we place on our environment and our dependence on our infrastructure for resilience."

Dear Friend of Bullock Creek,

breaking news!

QLDC Annual Plan submissions close on the 26th of April 5pm

Within the Draft Annual Plan, Stone Street Stormwater upgrades are being deferred by 7 years to YE 2030. Deferring investment in stormwater infrastructure so that Bullock Creek will continue to be contaminated for another 7 years will have dire consequences on the ecology of Bullock Creek and ultimately Lake Wanaka.  Submission forms are online at QLDC Lets Talk ( https://letstalk.qldc.govt.nz/annual-plan-2023-24) and this would be a great way to  support our mandate to protect Bullock Creek.

Now, back to the Newsletter….

Where does the year go? April already! 

Thanks as always to our dedicated band of hard working volunteers and committee members. We've been busy. Here's a snapshot:

New Committee

At the well attended AGM in March, a new committee was elected. Really not so much a new committee but rather a re-shuffle as we endeavour to share the workload. The committee is now:-

Office bearers

• President: Ben Irving

• Vice President: Sam Smoothy

• Treasurer: Charlotte Gardiner

• Secretary: Roger Gardiner

Committee members :

• Barry Mitchell

• Jacquie Staley

• Nancy Latham

• David Payton

• Maggie Domingo

Here's a copy of the AGM Minutes. 

New Admin Assistant

We welcome Andy Oxley to FOBC as a new Admin Assistant. Andy has been living in Wanaka since 2000 and moved to the Bullock Creek neighbourhood 6 years ago. As a local business woman, Andy has a wealth of general administration skills and local knowledge to offer to our group. She is also a keen environmentalist and a regular trapper with Forest & Bird in Mt Aspiring National Park. The committee in particular is looking forward to her contributions going forward.

Autumn Planting

Paul van Klink, our Wetlands manager and conduit with our partners Fish and Game has ambitious plans that are already well underway. 1000 plants in the ground this Autumn. Thanks to our native plant suppliers Corrections Otago and Te Kakano, our dedicated volunteers have been busy planting beech, carex, ribbonwood and comprosma. As at 20 April, Paul is well on his way to reaching his goal, with 345 plants in the ground

To make the most of the mild autumn weather, planting sessions are happening at the wetlands every Thursday in 2 sessions 10AM - Noon and 2 - 4PM. Nice short sessions that help all our busy helpers fit a session into their busy weeks. If you are keen to join the crew of volunteers, please don't hesitate to email us or call Paul on 021 056 9146

Evil Weeds

Joining Paul's weed "hit list"...morning glory or bindweed (Convolvulaceae) has appeared in the wetlands.

So why is it "weedy". This plant has a very fast growth rate, longevity, dense smothering habit. It climbs over all other species, ultimately killing them. Can replace forest with low weedy blanket, and is the last species in many cases when a bush area totally succumbs to weeds." (Source: Weedbusters.org.nz) Ably assisted by Eva Fernandez, Paul has been tracking down this beastie weed and Eva has been fanatical in her painstaking approach to its destruction.

As you wander through the wetlands....keep your eyes open. Let's keep these invasive weeds out.

The QE2 Covenant

As many of you will know, Fish and Game has applied to register the FOBC wetlands under a QE2 covenant. The covenant will protect the land in perpetuity against development. At the moment it is with LINZ and we will be sure to "shout" it from the rooftops when it is registered.

To find out more about QE2 Covenants - take a look at the website.

June 2022 Newsletter

Dear Friend of Bullock Creek,

Thank you very much for your continued support of Friends of Bullock Creek. Our last newsletter was in the spring and now that it is June, I would like to give you an update on what we have been up to.

Firstly, we held our Annual General Meeting in March at the barn in the Hatchery. Thank you for the great turn out.

We had a changing of the guard so to speak, Roger Gardiner and Andrew Waterworth have been absolute stalwarts in ensuring that FOBC is doing what we are mandated to do and also ensuring that we have the support to do what we are mandated to do.

Andrew has passed the baton on to me as President as he has other pursuits which he would like to follow at this stage. Andrew has been President of FOBC for the past four years, during which he has given his total commitment to progressing our vision for Bullock Creek – quite apart from sharing his experience and guidance with us as a committee, and being out there taking photos when we have had storm water issues, he has been fully engaged with local government and environmental bodies to advocate for what is important for Bullock Creek. On behalf of Friends of Bullock Creek, thank you Andrew, Bullock Creek is in a better space because of you and we wish you all the best with your future endeavours.

Roger has been the linchpin to the restoration project since it started. He, along with others such as Paul van Klink of Fish and Game and Andrew Penniket of Te Kākano, had the vision for restoring the Wetlands and for recognising how important environmentally, the Wetlands are to Wanaka. Over the years, Roger has coordinated us with Fish and Game, and has been the positive energy cell which has kept up the momentum of the restoration project.  Roger is stepping back from the executive role on the committee, and thankfully, will continue on as a member of the committee – and maintain an operations role.

Our elected Committee Members:

Nancy Latham, President                                       Barry Mitchell

Ben Irving, Vice President                                      David Payton

Charlotte Gardiner, Treasurer                               Magali Domingo

Roger Gardiner                                                         Sam Smoothy

Helen Howarth

Jacquie Staley

Our past seven months:

Celebration: It was 5 years ago in November since restoration of the Wetlands started and we, in conjunction with Fish and Game, had a BBQ in celebration. It was quite a mile stone as 20% of the 2.7ha site has been cleared of exotic bushes and weeds and replanted with over 5000 native plants. The plants are thriving - it is a natural wetland.

Back in 2016, the local resident association, Fish & Game and Te Kākano volunteers worked together on clearing the land in the Wetlands. Te Kākano also organised the plantings with plants from their community nursery and in 2018, FOBC evolved from this strong community initiative.

Fish and Game Otago: From FOBC’s point of view, and very importantly, what we have achieved over the past five years in working towards preserving the Wetlands as an ecologically important site and an iconic green space for Wanaka, is not through our (FOBC) efforts alone, but it has also been with the support and commitment to our shared vision by Fish and Game Otago who own the land. Their commitment is why we have been able to achieve what we have – thank you to Fish and Game and all your members.

Restoration of the Wetlands:  This is an ongoing project which involves the clearing of exotic bushes and scrub, and planting out in natives, as well as weeding. We do this with the help of our volunteers who come along on Thursday afternoons which is fantastic – thank you, we appreciate your support!

Stone Street entrance to the Wetlands 2016

Stone Street entrance to the Wetlands 2022

The Department of Corrections also plays a very important part in supporting us. People fulfilling Community hour requirements come along on Saturday and help with clearing, planting and maintenance. The Corrections facility in Milton also provide the seedlings for the restoration. On behalf of FOBC, thank you to all those involved for your support.

Both of these activities have been under the supervision of our contractor, Klaartje Van Schie (Claire) Unfortunately from our point of view, Claire was offered a contract with DOC and is now based in Te Anau. Claire made a huge contribution to the restoration project over the past 18 months by way of her commitment and enthusiasm. We thank Claire and wish her all the very best in her continued quest in looking after the environment.

QE11 Covenant: Our exciting news is that Fish and Game are working towards have the Wetlands registered as a covenant under the QE11 National Trust. This will legally protect the site into perpetuity which is great in itself, but it also means that having this certainty around future protection gives us more certainty for fund raising and restoration projects, so this is excellent news. QE11 will help fund the perimeter fencing too – in rabbit proof fencing which should help with our rabbit problems.

Advocacy: We have been very active in advocating for Bullock Creek. Bullock Creek is naturally spring fed, the water is pristine and the ecology is sensitive to contaminants such as storm water which is laden with sediment, hard metals and hydrocarbons. There is an ongoing issue with storm water breaching the boundary between the Alpha Series Development and the Wetlands on Fish and Game Land. We are engaged with QLDC asking why we have this ongoing issue with storm water – not just the quantity, but also the quality. We had an onsite meeting with QLDC in March so that we could better understand their logistics behind the current configuration of storm water assets south of the Bullock Creek headwaters.

FOBC are also very proactive in monitoring and trying to hold to account other infiltrations further down which have contaminated the creek.  

Boardwalk extension: Just in the last two weeks, Friends of Bullock Creek have extended the boardwalk so that during rain and flooding issues, people using the green space don’t need to walk through flood waters on the gravel path. The cost of materials was met by QLDC which we appreciate – although it would have been better if this boardwalk extension was not necessary due to the ongoing storm water flooding.

Going forward:

The restoration of the Wetlands continues to be a major focus. Having the site protected under an open space QE11 National Trust covenant will provide a baseline for fencing the perimeter and restoring the natural environment; and our restoration efforts will be protected for future generations under the covenant. We have a management plan in place so that our clearing and planting programme is measured, with the intent that we can manage weeding and maintenance of newly planted areas and develop the area within our resources.

We will continue to advocate for Bullock Creek including engagement with QLDC and ORC, and support this with good record keeping such as monitoring the health of Bullock Creek and the Wetlands.

Looking at the wider picture, we are supporting Wai Wanaka in developing an Integrated Catchment Management Plan for the Bullock Creek catchment; as well as engaging with ORC in their catchment management initiatives for Urban spaces, both for Bullock Creek and Lake Wanaka. Another initiative includes submitting to QLDC on a greater focus on Sustainable Water Management.

So thank you, Friends of Bullock Creek do appreciate your support, both as a member and financially, as well as out in the field. Your support is essential to what we can achieve.

If you would like to come along on Thursday afternoons to our volunteer days, or if you have a business where you would like to donate a work day to the wetlands, and you would like more details, do email me at info@fobc.kiwil  Or if you would like to renew your membership or support us by a donation, our website is: fobc.kiwi.

Kind regards,

Nancy Latham

President, Friends of Bullock Creek

Friends of Bullock Creek Charitable Trust is holding their AGM is on Tuesday 15th of March at 4.00pm.

The AGM will be held at the Fish and Game site, Lower Stone Street, in the open air barn. There is plenty of parking at the entrance to the site on the corner of Lower Stone Street and Tenby Street.

 

In keeping with Covid safety requirements, Claire has an app on her Phone to scan your vaccine pass. Your vaccine pass is required so that everyone is comfortable  being in a shared space - many thanks.

All are welcome. If you would like more information or wish to send an apology,  please contact FOBC at: info@fobc.kiwi

We have available 150-200 plants of Carex virgata, that we couldn't plant these season. They are medium sized and have a beautiful green foliage. If someone is interested and needs them for a wetland- riparian area, please email info@FOBC.kiwi for more information.

It’s always important to celebrate our achievements and successes – even more so in these uncertain times.

Paul van Klink, of Otago Fish and Game Otago, noted that it’s five years since the restoration work started on the Bullock Creek hatchery springs site. Anyone familiar with what it looked like back then will know just how much has been accomplished – it is literally a transformation, from impenetrable jungle of invasive weeds and pests to stunningly beautiful wetland, wildlife habitat and greenspace amenity.

What better way to celebrate this milestone than with a BBQ and drinks for workers, supporters and neighbours. Hosted by Fish and Game with the support of Friends of Bullock Creek, around 40 people turned up on Wednesday November 3rd for a delightful occasion in absolutely glorious weather.

Paul welcomed everyone to a shady corner of the hatchery springs site where a gazebo, chairs and BBQ had been set up by Paul, Ben Sowry and Klaartje (Claire) Van Schie.

Sausages sizzled, salads glistened and beers flowed as stories were told, friendships and partnerships affirmed and speeches were made.

Paul and Roger Gardiner recounted how the project had started, how many hours invested, plants planted and paid tribute to partners such as Te Kākano and the Department of Corrections. Corrections community workers have been key to the achievements made, contributing hundreds of hours to the clearance, planting and structural work undertaken at the hatchery springs site.

Dave Madden, Senior Work Supervisor from Corrections responded, saying how rewarding the project has been for them and their community workers, giving everyone a real sense of pride and achievement. It was great to see four senior staff members of Corrections at the BBQ, including Southland and Central Otago district manager Glenn Morrison.

Su Anderson, Manager of Wanaka Retirement Village spoke about how important Bullock Creek and the hatchery Springs site is to residents of the village, a green and pleasant haven right on their doorstep. Eleven village residents came along to help us celebrate.

All in all, the BBQ was a great success, a chance to look both back on milestones achieved and forward to the future of Bullock Creek, and the work and challenges that lie ahead. With the spirit of ‘can-do’ and partnership on display, we can be confident that many more milestones will be celebrated.  

A beautiful Day

Paul welcomes all

Roger giving his speech, Dave and Paul

Wanaka Retirement Village Manager Su Anderson speaks to the gathering

BBQ action

Mary Gardiner and Niamh Shaw

  Photo of Spring Colours above our pristine creek               

Dear Members,

The hatchery springs site is looking great now winter’s over, thanks to the renewed clearing and planting by volunteers, Corrections community workers, our site supervisor, Claire Van Schie and our Fish and Game colleagues, Paul van Klink and Ben Sowry.

FOBC has for the past 18 months contracted a paid person to undertake approx. 12 hours of site work each week (for approx. 35 to 40 weeks/ year) and we have been extremely fortunate in finding such talented and committed people in Maggie Domingo and then Claire who took over the job from Maggie earlier this year.

 Three photos of our volunteers

The restoration work has covered approximately 20% of the total 2.5ha area to date - 4880 volunteer hours have been committed to the site and 5000 native plants have been planted. An impressive achievement for which we acknowledge and thank the great support we have received from you with our Thursday planting sessions.

You may have noticed that our four signage boards are now installed and look fantastic – we have had numerous compliments, including from those with professional expertise in providing public information. Congratulations to Helen Howarth and Eddie Spearing. Do take a look –you’ll discover all sorts of fascinating information about Bullock Creek’s history, ecology and geography.

 Four photos of our information boards   

Metal signs highlighting that Bullock Creek is spring fed and a unique ecosystem have been placed at points of interest along the creek, with the intent to raise public awareness of Bullock Creek and to connect the source to the lake.

A photo of a metal sign highlighting Bullock Creek being natural spring water 

Since the AGM in March when we last reported to you, a lot has gone on - despite Covid - and it is well over-due for an update.

Storm Water

On a less happy note, regular visitors to the hatchery springs site may have encountered flooding and the effects of storm water overflow from the “wet/dry pond” directly above Bullock Creek. This is a holding pond for storm water from the Alpha Ridge development and many of you will be aware this is an ongoing and frustrating issue.

Two Photos of residual Flooding

During July/August/September there were no fewer than seven occasions when FOBC observed and recorded storm water overflow onto Fish and Game land, the wetland and into Bullock Creek, three of which resulted in Bullock Creek running extremely high with sediment laden stormwater. We have posted some of the photos and video on our web site and social media and we have reported the infringements to both ORC and QLDC.

As a culmination to our interactions with QLDC, FOBC was invited to a virtual meeting on the 18th August, hosted by the engineering department within QLDC to discuss the stormwater issues and council’s plans to address them. This meeting was attended by three FOBC Committee members and it proved to be informative but left many questions still unanswered. We are continuing to formally ask questions around actual stormwater management for Alpha Ridge and the developments above.

Two of our councillors, Niamh Shaw and Quentin Smith, have been very proactive in supporting FOBC and our concerns around the continual contamination of Bullock Creek with sediment laden stormwater. Quentin was out in the Wetlands at 10.30pm during one flooding event and took excellent video footage which we have posted on our website.

QLDC staff have committed to monthly reports and regular communication with FOBC on what council is doing to resolve the storm water problems from Alpha Ridge and Studholme subdivisions.

Headline points:

Ø  FOBC has been informed of mitigation plans for the storm water issues but we are neither supporting nor opposing the proposed plans as we do not have the expertise to assess the environmental or social implications of such plans. We believe wider community engagement will be required before implementation. FOBC is only one affected stakeholder in this issue.

Ø  FOBC is engaged in an ongoing dialogue with QLDC staff about storm water management, asking for detailed information and seeking a site tour of Alpha Ridge and Studholme subdivisions.

Ø  FOBC is pleased that council is showing more urgency in taking measures to prevent storm water flooding and pollution of Bullock Creek and the wetland.

Ø  FOBC has facilitated QLDC consulting a qualified freshwater ecologist and wetland specialist to review their plan

Ø  FOBC has met with ORC’s Environmental Implementation Manager and Team Leader at the hatchery springs site, provided a guided tour, a detailed record of events over the past four years and background to FOBC’s concerns about storm water pollution.

Ø  QLDC is internally reviewing an engineering plan to provide a solution to the storm water problems

Urban Catchment Plan

FOBC is mindful that Bullock Creek and the wetland do not exist in ecological isolation. FOBC committee representatives and Paul van Klink from Fish and Game Otago, met with WAI Wanaka in July to discuss the wider issues of how to protect Bullock Creek and Lake Wanaka (into which the creek flows) from storm water and pollution from future urban development. We agreed that an Integrated Urban Catchment Management Plan would be an important start to identify environmental and social issues associated with future development in the catchment and which QLDC should have regard to in their consenting protocols. Wai Wanaka has subsequently submitted a professional case for funding to support defining such a Catchment Plan.

Headline points:

Ø  WAI Wanaka has the experience to commission such a study and this will sit within the wider Upper Clutha Integrated Catchment Management Plan. FOBC will provide a supporting role to WAI Wanaka, providing information where we can.

Ø  WAI Wanaka identified a potential funding source and sought support from ORC and QLDC

Ø  FOBC provided background information on Bullock Creek and FOBC goals and achievements, as a supporting grassroots community group.

Ø  WAI Wanaka submitted an application for funding, outcome due in November

Ø  FOBC has recommended to both QLDC and ORC staff that an Urban Integrated Catchment Plan is essential to prevent future storm water pollution and flooding of water bodies in the district, including Bullock Creek.

Future management of Bullock Creek source, wetland and hatchery springs site

The FOBC committee has been considering the future of the site in the context of management, maintenance, protection and future ownership. Being a volunteer driven body, FOBC’s capability is subject to availability and commitment of its volunteers and supporters. Hence FOBC has engaged with Fish and Game Otago to discuss plans and options for future proofing and protecting the work done so far and the long-term protection of the site, now a highly valued community amenity.

Under this future proofing umbrella, we (FOBC) will be looking for new committee members at our AGM in January next year. It is a great committee and realising such positive outcomes since its inception has been so rewarding. Do please contact us if you have a possible interest.

 Two photos of committee members

info@fobc.kiwi

Phone: Roger Gardiner, Secretary – 021 117 7220

Headline points:

Ø  Becoming a committee member would be a great way to support FOBC and our activities.

Ø  Fish and Game’s CEO has welcomed FOBC’s engagement on these issues and asked FOBC to work with Paul van Klink on options to put to Fish and Game council in February 2022

Ø  FOBC has convened a sub-committee to consider and investigate options for discussion.

Thanks again to you all for your ongoing support, moral and financial. Our community spirit is hugely important. We depend on your subscriptions and donations to help fund the supervisor contractor. Please keep up your support, appreciate the beauty of Bullock Creek and remind our elected councillors how important it is to protect and preserve its unique qualities and environment.

Andrew Waterworth

President – Friends of Bullock Creek

Paul & Ben from Fish&Games had picked up 950 natives from Otago Corrections Facility in Milton.

Now they are at the Bullock Creek Hatchery Springs Nursery and will be planted at Bullock Creek and other projects such as Wanaka Catchment Group WaiOra sites in the next 2 months.

We had our first volunteer planting session in the Wetlands today, and what a perfect spring day!!

The trailer hire for bringing the native plants from Milton Corrections Facility to Bullock Creek Hatchery Springs nursery was sponsored by

Meetu & Abhishek Saklani from the Spice Room

 and we thank them for their support.

This is the second time within a week.

After moderate rain, the storm water pond directly above the spring fed headwaters of Bullock Creek overflowed into Fish and Game’s land, through the Wetland and into Bullock Creek.

On both occasions, the storm water was full of silt and sediment and turned the creek a muddy brown. On the 12thAugust, the water was particularly dirty and it appears that could be due to some of the storm water originating from earthworks or development happening above the Alpha subdivision. This is being investigated by QLDC.

The turbidity, sediment or silt in the creek not only discolours the water but also settles onto the gravels which is not good for the trout spawning areas or the overall ecology.

We have uploaded photos and video of the flooding and subsequent damage to the wetlands to our website gallery. This includes edited video from councillor Quentin Smith who visited the site at 10pm on 16th August when the overflow was at its peak –the video is a disturbing record of how just how bad it was.

Coming just five weeks after the last storm water overflow, this repeated contamination of the wetlands and creek is intensely annoying and frustrating.

As before, the two Triton arches (underground storm water retention tanks/sumps installed by the developer at the bottom of the Alpha Series subdivision) were both completely full. Once again, the pump that QLDC put in to transfer excess storm water out of the pond and into the tanks was not operating.

FOBC has taken this up directly with QLDC, seeking answers to what happened, why and what council is doing to provide solutions. This continuing pollution of Wanaka’s iconic spring-fed water way cannot continue.

You can also view and share photos and videos on our Facebook and Instagram pages.

We’ve had a fair amount of rain recently, but it was not a 1:100 year event by a long chalk.

Yet again, the storm water pond serving the Alpha Series subdivision directly above and adjacent to the spring-fed headwaters of Bullock Creek was filled to capacity and overflowed onto Fish and Game land, through the wetland and into Bullock Creek.

We have uploaded some photos of the flooding and subsequent damage to the Wetlands, to our Website Gallery.

You can see in the photos which were taken on Wednesday morning that there is a fair amount of turbidity, sediment or silt in the creek that is both discolouring the water and settling onto the gravels which is not good for the trout spawning areas - and not good for the overall ecology. Note that water in the pond looks brown and muddy and there’s evidence of industrial rubbish.   We don’t know what contaminants might be in the storm water but given the subdivision is full of occupied houses and builders are constructing new homes near the pond, it’s fair to assume the storm water did contain pollutants. The two Triton arches (underground storm water retention tanks/sumps installed by the developer at the bottom of the Alpha Series subdivision) were both completely full. Hence the pump that QLDC put in to transfer excess storm water out of the pond and into the tanks was not operating.

 ORC Environmental officers were on site on Wednesday observing and recording conditions and FOBC has filed a complaint through ORC’s Pollution Hotline, submitting both photos and video evidence.

You can view further photos and our videos on our Facebook and Instagram pages via the link above.