Media Release: Rik Tindall, Our Water Our City council candidate

Date: 07 October, 2010

Remediation of unhealthy Christchurch East water environment

A Christchurch City Council candidate is calling for the Avon-Heathcote Estuary to be declared a marine reserve and wildlife sanctuary. Rik Tindall, who is running for a council seat in the coastal Burwood-Pegasus ward, was elected to Environment Canterbury in 2007 and believes protection is needed for this polluted tidal waterway. The planning would be applied for reasons of human health as much as for the benefit of resident wild animals.

Christchurch city whitebaiting has not been deterred by local authority emergency measures so far, and Tindall believes a ‘no take’ ban to be the practical enforcement option for protecting people’s health long-term

“Broken sewerage from the September earthquake and aftershocks have compounded what was already discharge-prone waste-water management, adding to residual post-treatment pollution, so we need to draw the line under food harvesting now,” says Tindall.

The situation is not getting better quickly, with repairs estimated to take a year or longer to complete. The risk of unregulated commercial supply of contaminated whitebait has demanded urgent action.

“Christchurch Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has the power to create an Estuary marine reserve overnight, for protecting human health. Our city is in environmental crisis, and we need this food-gathering rahui as an immediate remedial measure for keeping people safe,” Tindall says. “All Ihutai natural values can be preserved by this single integrating act.”

Public consultation should follow thereafter, as to the permanence of the marine reserve, Tindall believes. But the high tourism values created by such a sanctuary - particularly around ornithology and sport - will present a very strong argument for retention.

The recent completion of the waste-water outfall pipe from the Bromley treatment plant, into open sea, indicates an environmental recovery window for the Estuary that is yet to be fully opened. Tindall sees a legislated Estuary recovery period as now being unavoidable.

“Food gathering needs to be ruled off-limits, for the indefinite future, to protect and enhance the numerous natural species and values centered on the Ihutai, as well as for human health,” Tindall recommends.

“Further, the decisions pending over Bexley liquefaction zone lands add more opportunity to improve coastal well-being,” Tindall advises.

“A world-leading test program must underpin any reconstruction there, with sustainable architecture design. A wetland viewing and science interpretation centre is the perfect fit for what may never be an area suitable for residences,” Tindall concludes.

[Ends]

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