Petition on pollution of Waimakariri

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32568, 30 March 1971, Page 13

Petition on pollution of Waimakariri

Silver-plated spoons and wobblers of anglers turn black in only three casts in the Waimakariri River and the water is so polluted that fish cleaned in it are unfit for consumption within 12 hours, some anglers claim.

These are two of the reasons why North Canterbury anglers are circulating a petition seeking to have the Goveminent and local authorities eliminate the pollution in the river. The petition was organised by a few anglers who fish the lower stretches of the Waimakariri River, between the motorway bridges and the mouth. It was launched yesterday. One of the most favoured spots for fishing is on the left bank opposite Stewarts Gully; often from Monday to Friday there are 50 or more anglers there early in the day from 5 a.m., and again in the early evening. “If it can turn a silverplated spoon black in a few minutes, what’s it doing to the fish” said one angler on the river bank on a recent evening. “I fish mainly in the Rakaia, a good clean river. This is the first time I've fished here and I had no idea that it was nearly as bad as this,” said another. “At Lake Coleridge you can fish all day with the same spoon, but here you have to change them at least every half hour. The fish won't bite at a black spoon," said a third angler.

Worst affected The whole stretch of the Waimakariri River below the motorway bridges Is polluted, but the section opposite Stewarts Gully seems to be the worst affected, possibly because effluent is deposited there where the tide and river current meet. Often there is a scum on the surface, with pieces of fleeces floating along too. Freezing works, fell-mongery and woollen mills effluent make the water mucky. Mr W. C. Johnston, of Rangiora, an honorary ranger for the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society, said that on some occasions the smell from the river was almost unbearable. “Some days at the mouth and a bit upstream the smell is so vile that you can hardly breathe. It's absolutely putrid,” he said. The river probably was worse this year bycause of the low flow, said Mr Johnston, a keen fisherman, who predicted that there soon would be no fish in the river if pollution was allowed to continue.

Cleaning fish One practice which should cease was that of cleaning a fish in the river and throwing the entrails into the water, said Mr Johnston. It was illegal to clean a fish in the river or on the riverbank. “The Acclimatisation Society says that the water is so polluted that the bacteria will make the fish bad in 12 hours if it is cleaned in the river. It s away as soon as the water touches the cut fish,” he said. What can be done to prevent one of the most popular fishing rivers in Canterbury from becoming dead? The petitioners hope that their efforts might achieve action.

“Nothing done” “It’s not a matter of there being nothing you can do, but rather that nothing has been done—at least not yet,” commented a Christchurch fisherman. “There are 7000 of us licence-holders in the district now, and I think that if we all laid our blackened spoons up the drives of freezing works, maybe we would get something done,” he added. The Acclimatisation Society was doing everything within its power to reduce the pollution, said Mr Johnston, but it was hampered by action such as that of the Department of Health m issuing permits to Kaiapoi factories to dump rubbish in

the river. _ “But the Kaiapoi Borough Council is right with us, and if we can get enough people to squeal sufficiently loud, we’ll get something done about it,” said Mr Johnston, who welcomed the news that signatures were being sought for the petition. The petition The petition, which will be presented to the Member for Rangiora (Mr H. E. L. Pickering), reads:— “We, the undersigned, petition you to persuade the Government and local authorities concerned to eliminate

the serious state of pollution which exists in the Waimakariri River, from the motorway bridges to the sea. “This stretch of water is the most popular for recreation, particularly from the fishing point of view, in the whole river system. On the other hand, it is.also the most polluted and effluent filled reach of water in the river. “In the interests of the many hundreds of fishermen and others who use this stretch of water, we ask

that immediate action be taken to see that the situation is rectified because: “A: Despite official assurances that something is being done, there has been no improvement in the state of the river, which is now virtually an open sewer. “B: Unless immediate, positive action is taken the lower Waimakariri will become a dead river, unable to support fish life and will be unsuitable for use as a recreation area.”