Porirua Harbour

A sensitive receiving environment

Juliet Milne, 21 October 2009

Outline
The harbour is an estuary Common estuary issues Monitoring results Management issues

Porirua Estuary
The harbour is an actually an estuary Estuaries are sensitive to a number of issues:
habitat loss sedimentation eutrophication (enrichment) contamination

Monitoring & management need to target these issues

Sedimentation monitoring site Recreation monitoring site Intertidal monitoring site Subtidal monitoring site Stream monitoring site

Habitat loss
Broad-scale mapping of intertidal substrate & vegetation
% cover of mud, saltmarsh, seagrass, vegetated terrestrial buffer, nuisance algae

Rushland, Pauatahanui arm December 2007 base-line (5-yearly mapping)

2007 survey results

Invasive species

Invasive kelp (Undaria pinnatifida)

Invasive species

Roadus tyrus

Shoppin trolleri

Roadus conerii Plastica fizzii

Sedimentation
Sedimentation plates installed in 2007/08 Depth to plates measured annually

Eutrophication
Annual monitoring at 4 intertidal sites
fine-scale sediment condition indicators benthic (sediment-dwelling) fauna

Annual mapping of macroalgal cover

Measuring the depth of oxygenated sediment

Healthy

Anoxic

Macroalgae cover
January 2009 more than 50% coverage of nuisance algae in some areas

Sea lettuce (Ulva)

Eel grass (Zostera)

Identification of benthic fauna

Cockle

Mudflat whelk

Polychaete worms

Wedgeshell

Capitella capitata

Benthic fauna photos: Cawthron

Contaminants Part I
Disease risk
Water quality tested at 6 recreational sites weekly during summer Not always safe for swimming
avoid after rain

10,000

Enterococci (cfu/100 mL)

1,000 Action guideline Alert guideline 100

10

1 Jul-2007

Dec-2007

Jun-2008

Dec-2008

Jun-2009

Paremata Bridge, 2007-2009

10,000

unsafe
Enterococci (cfu/100 mL) 1,000 Action guideline Alert guideline 100

10

1 Nov-2001 Nov-2002 Nov-2003 Nov-2004 Nov-2005 Nov-2006 Nov-2007 Nov-2008 Nov-2009

Porirua Harbour rowing club, 2001-2009

Contaminants Part I cont.

Disease risk
Shellfish flesh (cockles) tested periodically Lack of guidelines for many contaminants Avoid streams & stormwater outfalls

Contaminants Part II
Toxicants
Five subtidal monitoring sites sampled in 2004, 2005 & 2008 Lead, zinc & DDT main contaminants of concern
elevated, persistent & toxic

No clear evidence of significant ecological effects

ANZECC ISQG-low

Total zinc concentrations

10 9 8
ANZECC ISQGLow = 1.6 ng/g ARC ERC: red = 3.9 ng/g

DDT (ng/g @ 1%TOC)

7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

ARC ERC red

ANZECC ISQG-low

PAH1

PAH2

PAH3 POR1 POR2 Site

Total DDT concentrations (at 1% TOC)

Toxicants - intertidal hotspot study

Targeted stream outflows, and stormwater outfalls
southern end of harbour streambed sediments

Clear evidence of stormwater-derived contamination Zinc, lead, PAHs, DDT above guidelines in surface sediments

Semple St outfall

Management issues
Sensitive receiving environment in an urban setting Sediment & nutrient inputs control at source Transport of contaminants
stormwater-derived inputs are ongoing

Management issues
Existing contamination Future development? Whole of catchment approach needed

Everyone has a role to play