Council’s requirements for good farm management. The OAG’s new report will be released next year. Climate-change calculationsClimate change has had a patchy and relatively minor impact on Taranaki’s weather so far but the Council is factoring possible future changes into its work, particularly around flood protection, the Policy and Planning Committee was told. Data in the new Ministry for the Environment (MfE) report, Our Atmosphere and Climate 2017, shows that Taranaki has seen little change in
The Taranaki Regional Council is monitoring rainfall and river flows throughout the region. There has been a period of sustained heavy rain yesterday and overnight. Rain is forecast to continue until early afternoon today. At the Waiwhakaiho and Waitara flood protection schemes, river levels peaked between 2 and 4am, and based on the current weather forecast, we do not anticipate these rivers reaching critical flood levels. In the rest of the region, heavy rainfall is expected to result in
effectiveness of buffers
Slope of land (degree and length) in relation to waterway
Soil type and texture, quality (e.g. pugging, or compaction susceptibility)
Climatic and weather conditions to determine timing of cultivation
Cultivation methods (pre-, during, and post-cultivation; contour, no- or low-tillage)
Measures to prevent sediment and nutrients entering waterways (e.g. sediment traps or interception drains, headlands or diversion bunds, grazing techniques)
Measures to prevent soil loss through
World Wetlands Day is celebrated each year on 2 February to raise awareness on the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands. Wetlands are important natural tools that combat floods, droughts and other extreme weather events, says Taranaki Regional Council Director – Operations, Daniel Harrison. Wetlands, which are where the water table is near the land’s surface, or where land is permanently or temporarily covered by water, are among the world's most productive and valuable ecosystems and
The onset of warmer, drier weather brings a greater chance of smoke and dust issues, and Taranaki businesses and households are urged to take care to avoid falling foul of environmental requirements. “Everyone has a duty to comply with measures required to protect the quality of Taranaki’s air,” says Bruce Pope, Compliance Manager for the Taranaki Regional Council. Objectionable smoke and dust can create traffic hazards, soil surrounding properties and pose a risk to animal and human health. Mr
A weathered old red-eared slider turtle found on a Bell Block walkway last week is believed to have been on the run for at least a year, possibly a lot longer. The 24cm or “dinner-plate sized” female was picked up by Taranaki Regional Council senior ecologist Halema Jamieson following a tip-off from a local. Red-eared slider turtles are one of the world’s worst invasive pest species, with the potential to cause serious ecological damage if they become established in the wild. They are of
won’t necessarily mean overall water quality is getting worse. “This summer we expect to see more exceedances of contamination guidelines because now we’ll sometimes be sampling at times when run-off has contaminated the water. As in the past, all results will be available online.’’ The Council has been monitoring recreational water quality for the past 25 summers and Ms Matthews says the work has served the region well. “Up until now, our system’s been designed to target weather conditions when
The new regulations were announced last year but are yet to come into force. The Government now proposes a number of changes including a more practical measure for slope requirements, a recognition that pugging is less of an environmental risk than previously thought, and an easing of resowing-date requirements to reflect vagaries in weather patterns. The regulations have also been deferred and will not be in force until the winter of 2023, giving farmers more time to prepare. The Committee was
concentrations and aesthetic quality can flag pressures on waterways and indicate where to best focus our attention. The picture in Taranaki is larely stable but our aim to achieve more improvements and fewer declines. Samples are collected year round, regardless of flow and weather conditions, and analysed for a wide range of parameters.
Latest results are for the 2015/16 year, when 11 sites were sampled monthly for up to 22 parameters.
Measurements of organic contamination and aesthetic quality at all
colonies are scattered around the coasts of the upper North Island, mainly on headlands and peninsulas adjacent to the sea. Toby plans to search the coast for burrows, to establish whether there is indeed a colony growing. He is keen to hear from anyone in Oākura and surrounds who may have seen or heard the birds or seen possible burrows. The best time to see and hear the birds is at night, as they travel out to sea to feed during the day. And they’ll be loving our recent weather as they “love a stormy