Avon wetlands reserve “violated”

Press, 6 November 1984, Page 6

Avon wetlands reserve “violated”

Work on stop banks on the lower Avon River, has "violated” a wetlands reserve near the estuary, said an honorary estuary warden, Mr Bernie Calder, yesterday. Soil and vegetation along a 100 m strip of reserve was bulldozed then dumped further on to the reserve, “compounding the problem,” he said. The width of the damaged area varied between five and 10 metres. The Christchurch Drain-

age Board began the work on Friday at the end of Jervois and Tovy streets, South New Brighton. The work was stopped yesterday while Mr Calder arranged for Drainage Board staff to meet staff of the Christchurch City Council’s parks and reserves department. “A genuine effort will have to be made to rehabilitate the vegetation before it dies,” said Mr Calder. He thought the work

could have been done on a 4m wide clear strip beside the river, without going on to the reserve. “The sides of the bank would have had to be a lot steeper, of course. If they had wanted to impinge on the reserve it would have been all right if they had done it properly,” he said. Although the work was being done by the Drainage Board, Mr Calder said the City. Council “had let the side down.” The City Coun-

cil was responsible for the reserve and should have had someone to supervise the work. “It’s like knowing there is an elephant running around in your garden but not going but to have a look.” The Drainage Board had to obtain a water right from the North Canterbury Catchment Board before it could start the work but it was not clear if the vegetation on the reserve was covered under , the right, he

said. The director of the parks and reserve department, Mr Neiel Drain, said Mr Calder was right to point out the damage to the reserve. “It will have to be cleared up and the methods of disposing of the soil will have to be remedied.” “Work was stopped today so that something could be sorted out,” he said. Mr Drain said the City Council had been “caught in the middle” of the issue.