State of the Auckland Region 2009 Contents
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Auckland Regional Council 09 UR FUTURE O State of the N, Auckland Region O OUR REGI ISBN 978-1-877540-45-5 Acknowledgement The project team wishes to acknowledge the dedication of the various field teams who over the past 20 years have battled through intermittent periods of fine weather, rain, hail and snow to collect the data for this report. Project team Alison Reid, Amy Taylor, Garry McDonald (Market Economics Ltd), Grant Barnes, Gerard Willis (Enfocus Ltd), Graham Surrey, Greg Mason, Janet Petersen, Jarrod Walker, Martin Neale, Matt Baber, Megan Carbines, Nicola Smith (Market Economics Ltd), Peri Buckley, Phil White, Rebecca Greatrex, Ryan Paulik, Shanju Xie, Sharon Vujnovich, Suzanne Stickney, Vaneesa Bellew. Contributors Abigail Forbes, Alexandra Wilson, Andrew Benson, Andrew Millar, Anne Van der Walt, Brenda Osborne, Bruce Forbes, Carolyn Blackford, Catherine Murray, Chris Hatton, Christina Kaiser, Claudia Hellberg, Craig Fredrickson, Dominic McCarthy, Don Houghton, Elizabeth Wells, Eva McLaren, Gerda Kuschel (Emission Impossible Ltd), Gillian Crowcroft, Greg Murphy, Hugh Jarvis, Jane Olsen, Janet Whiteside, Jenny Fuller, John Freeland, John O’Grady, Jonathan Boow, Jonathan Streat, Judy-Ann Ansen, Julie Bevan, Karen Denyer, Kathryn Davies, Kelvin Norgrove (Strateg.Ease Ltd), Kevin Mahon, Kim Morresey, Kirsteen McDonald, Kristy Seymour, Lisa Doran, Louise Gobby, Matthew Davis, Michael Tucker, Myles Hicks, Nigel Clarke, Phil Barlow, Rebecca Stanley, Rob Hughes, Rob Perry, Roberta Robles, Rod Dissmeyer, Roger Bannister, Rosalie Stamp, Samantha Hill, Sandi Murray, Shaun Gamble, Shelley Trueman, Shona Myers, Stephen Crane, Stephen Horsley, Surekha Sridhar, Tim Higham, Tim Lovegrove, Viv Sherwood, Wendy Cyster-Gomwe. Design Port Group Ltd Front cover photo: Awana Bay, Great Barrier Island by Alistair Jamieson. © 2010 Auckland Regional Council This publication is provided strictly subject to Auckland Regional Council’s (ARC) copyright and other intellectual property rights (if any) in the publication. Users of the publication may only access, reproduce and use the publication, in a secure digital medium or hard copy, for responsible genuine non-commercial purposes relating to personal, public service or educational purposes, provided that the publication is only ever accurately reproduced and proper attribution of its source, publication date and authorship is attached to any use or reproduction. This publication must not be used in any way for any commercial purpose without the prior written consent of ARC. ARC does not give any warranty whatsoever, including without limitation, as to the availability, accuracy, completeness, currency or reliability of the information or data (including third party data) made available via the publication and expressly disclaim (to the maximum extent permitted in law) all liability for any damage or loss resulting from your use of, or reliance on the publication or the information and data provided via the publication. The publication and information and data contained within it are provided on an “as is” basis. State of the Auckland Region 2009 Contents Foreword 1 4.0 Executive summary 2 State of the environment 94 1.0 4.1 State of the environment – Air 95 Introduction 4 Introduction 96 About this report 7 Air quality monitoring programme 96 The Auckland region 8 Air quality 99 References and further reading 15 Conclusions on the state of the air 116 Case Study: On-road vehicle emissions – monitoring to support policy 117 2.0 References and further reading 119 Driving forces 16 Introduction 19 4.2 State of the environment – Land 121 Population growth and change 19 Introduction 122 Economic growth and resource efficiency 21 Land stability, soil disturbance and bare soil 122 Consumption and consumerism 26 Soil quality 129 Conclusion 29 Sediment 134 How the ARC recognises driving forces 29 Conclusions on the state of the land 136 References and further reading 30 References and further reading 137 3.0 4.3 State of the environment – Freshwater 139 Pressures: consumption and production 32 Introduction 140 Introduction to pressures 37 Rivers 140 Land use, land use change Lakes 160 and intensification 37 Groundwater 167 Water use 51 Exotic freshwater species 175 Energy use 54 Conclusions on the state Solid and hazardous wastes 57 of the freshwater 178 Liquid wastes 60 References and further reading 179 Air pollution 69 Transport 75 ARC responses 79 Case Study: Urban Stream Syndrome 86 Case Study: Historical sedimentation accumulation rates 88 Case Study: The ecological footprint of the Auckland region 90 References and further reading 92 Controlling the use of coastal space 240 4.4 State of the environment – Marine 181 Protecting and enhancing Introduction 182 terrestrial biodiversity 241 Coastal water quality 182 Case Study: Tawharanui Open Sanctuary 252 Sediment and shellfish contamination 188 Case Study: Lake Wainamu 254 Ecological quality 191 Exotic marine species 195 Conclusions on the state 5.0 of the marine environment 196 Case Study: The quality of freshwater Hazards and heritage 256 and marine environments 197 References and further reading 198 5.1 Hazards and heritage – Natural hazards 257 Introduction 259 4.5 State of the environment – Natural hazards Terrestrial biodiversity 201 monitoring programmes 259 Geological hazards 259 Introduction 202 Climatic hazards 262 Threatened species 206 Coastal hazards 264 Terrestrial pests 211 State of preparation for natural Conclusions on the state hazard events 268 of terrestrial biodiversity 212 Conclusions on natural hazards 269 Case Study: Loss of wetlands ARC responses 270 in the Auckland region 213 Case Study: Turei Hill Landslide, Case Study: Vegetation clearance Kawakawa Bay, Manukau City (2008) 271 on the North Shore 214 References and further reading 272 References and further reading 216 5.2 Hazards and heritage – Historic heritage 275 4.6 State of the environment – Responses 218 Introduction 276 Introduction 220 Historic heritage monitoring programmes 276 Developing targets for reducing The state of historic heritage 277 PM10 emissions 220 Controlling sediment Implications 287 from land disturbance 224 ARC responses 287 Controlling agricultural discharges 228 Conclusions on the state Managing contaminated sites 230 of historic heritage 290 Managing urban pollution 231 Case Study: The value of education – Mangere Mountain Education Centre 292 Controlling water taking, damming and diverting 232 Stream enhancement 6.0 and compensatory works 233 Improving urban stormwater discharges 236 Conclusion 295 Improving riparian management 239 Acronyms & abbreviations 300 Lake restoration 240 1.0 Foreword It is with great pleasure that I introduce the latest State of the Auckland Region report. This report presents as complete a picture as is currently possible of the state of the region’s air, land, water and biodiversity. It is a picture built up over decades from the Auckland Regional Council’s extensive monitoring and research programmes coupled with the knowledge of other agencies. The report will provide the new Auckland Council with information to help it adapt to ongoing and new environmental challenges. Regular snapshots of the environment’s status are important because they help local government make decisions in areas such as the management of urban growth and rural productivity, and the protection of open spaces, landscapes and biodiversity. The Auckland Regional Council is responsible for managing Auckland’s natural resources and contributing to the sustainable development of the region. In doing this our challenge is to manage the effects of a growing population and expanding urban area on Auckland’s natural resources, production systems, air quality and cultural heritage. This report is the third in a series produced since 1999. It’s the last the Auckland Regional Council will produce and represents the legacy of the councillors who worked hard to establish the State of the Region programme. It is also represents the work of many people past and present for whom the care and stewardship of the region’s environment is an abiding passion. The extent and comprehensiveness of our knowledge about Auckland’s environment owes a lot to the foresight of the people involved in the 1985 Waitangi Tribunal deliberations on claims brought by Nganeko Minhinnick and Te Puaha ki Manukau on the Manukau Harbour and environs. The tribunal determined that action was needed to clean up the harbour and there was not enough information to assess the impact of development. The resulting Manukau Harbour Action Plan led to the establishment of research and monitoring programmes in 1987. These were later extended to include other areas in the region. I wish to acknowledge the contributions of my colleagues and to thank all involved in preparing the 2009 State of the Auckland Region report. Cr Paul Walbran Chair – Regional Strategy and Planning Committee Auckland Regional Council Introduction 1 1.0 Executive summary Purpose of the report Water use appears relatively stable. Surface water from the Waitakere and Hunua Ranges provides the majority of the The Auckland Regional Council (ARC) prepared this report as region’s water supplies by volume. Consent holders used 76 a requirement under Section 35 of the Resource Management per cent of water allocated under consent; more than in 2002 Act (1991). The report takes stock of the monitoring of the but less than during 2003-5. Applications for groundwater bores Auckland environment, the challenges it faces and