WAI Wanaka Stormwater Report
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Stormwater Quality of Discharges into Lake Wānaka Technical Report Prepared for Wai Wānaka Mar 2021 Prepared by: Victoria Grant, University of Otago School of Geography, University of Otago PO Box 56 Dunedin 9054 Version 1.1 Final report prepared by Victoria Grant, reviewed by Sarah Mager (Mar-2021) 1 Table of Contents Stormwater Quality of Discharges into Lake Wānaka ............................................................................ 1 1 Executive Summary .......................................................................................................................... 5 2 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 6 3 Main Findings .................................................................................................................................... 8 3.1 Urban Sprawl in Wānaka since 1956 ......................................................................................... 8 3.2 Data Collection and Sampling Sites ......................................................................................... 11 3.3 Base Flow Conditions of Perennially-Flowing Watercourses ................................................. 16 3.3.1 Natural Watercourses ........................................................................................................ 16 3.3.2 Perennially-Flowing Drains .............................................................................................. 20 3.4 Stormwater Outfalls during Rain Events .................................................................................. 22 3.5 Evidence for a First Flush Response in Stormwater ................................................................ 26 3.5.1 E. coli behaviour in Bremner Drain and Old Wharf Drain ............................................... 35 3.6 Influence of Imperviousness on Stormwater Quality ............................................................... 36 3.7 Influence of Storm Duration and Intensity on Stormwater Quality ......................................... 37 4 Recommendations and Conclusions ................................................................................................ 39 5 References ....................................................................................................................................... 40 6 Appendices ...................................................................................................................................... 41 6.1.1 Technical Notes on Methods and Sample Acquisition ..................................................... 41 6.1.2 Supplementary Tables of Data .......................................................................................... 43 2 List of Tables Table 1: Concentrations of water quality variables for natural water courses and stormwater drains discharging into Lake Wanaka. ....................................................................................................... 7 Table 2: Physical description, human use, and distinguishing factors of the natural waterways and/or rivers that receive stormwater inflows. .......................................................................................... 13 Table 3: Physical description, human use, and distinguishing factors of the stormwater outflows that discharge directly into Lake Wānaka. ............................................................................................ 14 Table 4:Stormwater sampling campaigns in Wānaka township, with details of rainfall amount, intensity, and holding period (in hours) that describes the time between significant rain events (i.e., > 1 mm hr−1) as recorded at the NIWA CWS Station in Wānaka. Datasource: NIWA Cliflo (2020). ............................................................................................................................................ 15 Table 5: Baseflow water quality of natural waterways in Wānaka above stormwater outfall effects. All measurements in mg L−1, except for E. coli which is in units of CFU per 100 mL. ..................... 18 Table 6: Average (mean) concentrations of water quality indicators from perennially-flowing drains that discharge into Lake Wānaka, as measured under baseflow conditions between 5–21 days after any significant rain. All measurements in mg L−1, except for E. coli which is in units of CFU per 100 mL. ........................................................................................................................... 20 Table 7: Median baseflow and stormflow concentrations for 7 stormwater contaminants including: turbidity, suspended sediment, E. coli, total phosphorus, dissolved reactive phosphorus, total nitrogen, and nitrate. Baseflow concentrations were available for 7 sites whilst stormflow concentrations were available for all 12 sites. Values that exceed both the ANZECC Guidelines and Schedule 15 thresholds are highlighted in blue below. ........................................................... 23 Table 8: Median stormflow concentrations for total recoverable and dissolved metals for the 12 monitored sites and the percentage of sample which is in dissolved form. Values that exceed both the ANZECC Guidelines and Schedule 15 thresholds are highlighted in blue. (ND –below the method detection). ......................................................................................................................... 24 Table 9: Kendall’s Tau correlation between impervious surface coverage percentage and contaminant concentration for a variety of contaminants sampled in this study. P-values indicate a significant correlation between the two variables at the 0.1* and ** 0.05 level. ............................................ 36 Table 10: Sample handing and storage. ................................................................................................. 41 Table 11: Analytical methods and associated detection limits for analysis completed at Hills Laboratories and where Otago University (specified only where different). Detection limits in units of milligrams per litre, unless otherwise specified. .............................................................. 42 Table 12: Receiving Water Group 3 numerical limits and targets for achieving good water quality in Plan Change 6a – Schedule 15. ...................................................................................................... 43 Table 13: Receiving Water Group 5 numerical limits and targets for achieving good water quality in Plan Change 6a – Schedule 15. ...................................................................................................... 43 Table 14: Catchment Area 2 contaminant discharge thresholds and targets for achieving good water quality in Plan Change 6a – Schedule 16. Discharges leaving open or tile drains or paddocks must meet these thresholds when the representative monitoring site for the area is at or below median flow (Applying from April 1st, 2020). ............................................................................... 44 Table 15: Establishment of reference conditions and trigger values for chemical, physical, and microbiological indicators in New Zealand streams and rivers – median and 80th percentile values of the estimates at the 3rd level (i.e. climate by topography by geology) of the REC (McDowell et al., 2013; ANZG, 2018). CDH / HS classification used at Stoney Creek Sites (i.e., Stoney Creek Headwaters and Stoney Creek Lower) and CDH / AL classification used at Bullock Creek and Water Race Sites (i.e., Bullock Creek Headwaters, Bullock Creek Middle, Bullock Creek Lower, Middle Water Race/Control, and Lower Water Race). Classifications were determined through the New Zealand River Environment Classification User Guide (Snelder et al., 2010). ....................................................................................................................................... 45 Table 16: Kendall’s Tau correlation between stormwater contaminants sampled in this study. P-values ≤ 0.05 indicate a significant correlation between the two variables at the 0.05 level. .................. 50 3 List of Figures Figure 1: Sixty years of changing impervious surface coverage of the Wānaka township – a) 1956 b) 1968 c) 1976 d) 1984 e) 1999 and f) 2006 ...................................................................................... 9 Figure 2: Impervious surface coverage of Wānaka at 03/2018. ............................................................ 10 Figure 3: Impervious surface coverage (ha) for Wānaka for the sixty-two-year period (1956-2018) derived from aerial and satellite imagery. ..................................................................................... 10 Figure 4: Sampling sites including a combination of Touchstones past sites (Stoney Creek Headwaters, Stoney Creek Urban, Lower Water Race, McDougall Street Drain, Bullock Creek Headwaters, Bullock Creek Lower) and UCLT new sites (Middle Water Race/Control, Bullock Creek Middle, Old Wharf Drain, Beacon Point Drain, Kirimoko Subdivision). .......................... 11 Figure 5: Stormwater Drain Sites including 1) McDougall Street Drain 2) Bremner Drain 3) Old Wharf Drain 4) Kiromoko Subdivision and 5) Beacon Point Drain. ............................................. 12 Figure 6: Natural Waterway Sites including: 6) Middle Water Race/Control 7) Lower Water Race/Urban 8) Bullock Creek Middle 9) Bullock Creek Head/Control 10) Bullock Creek