Council is involved in several initiatives aimed at improving the health and life of our waterways. There are also many ways in which you can contribute towards improving the environment in and around our rivers and streams.
The Council provides advice and financial assistance through its River and Streams Management Fund. The types of work involved in the programme are:
Work on streams and gullies including the clearance of blockages, planting of appropriate grass, shrub or tree species, protection fencing and drop control structure construction. Both native and exotic plants may be suitable. Further information can be obtained from:
Controlling the grazing and access of grazing stock to watercourses can result in major improvements in water quality. Fencing off and management of the riparian areas is the major tool.
The type of fencing required depends on the farm management system that it has to compliment. It ranges from two-wire electric through to the standard post and batten fence. Similarly management of the riparian areas will vary from excluding stock totally through to controlled grazing.
Planting may be necessary in some circumstances to control or filter surface run-off and may incorporate erosion control planting.
Important habitats include wetlands, streams of high native fish values and significant riparian vegetation. Protection of these areas is primarily through fencing to exclude livestock. Where necessary, weed and pest management programmes may also need implementing.
The Fund mainly targets the upper catchment areas, ie. on small streams and watercourses. The extensive amount of research carried out indicates that upper catchment streams and creeks, drains and wetland areas that feed into major watercourses are more susceptible to degradation than other large watercourses. The best reward for effort will come where enhancement or restoration is first focussed on the headwaters. Other areas such as main rivers and wetlands will also be assessed and have been included into the works programme.
Council can arrange for a biodiversity report to be prepared for you if you own a patch of natural bush, including forest with streams flowing through. Greater awareness of the biodiversity values can lead to enhancing important plant and animal communities.
Regulation is often necessary to ensure that there is a level playing field. Part IV and V of the Tasman Resource Management Plan (TRMP) contain most of the relevant rules to protect stream life.
Both an overview and the full volume of the TRMP can be found here.
The Tasman rural hub also has information regarding the rules and regulations for freshwater management and development:
Improving a degraded stream can be a slow but rewarding project, with the goal being to improve the natural variety all streams should have. This variety might look like a streambed with stones, cobbles, sand, and woody debris. It also includes streams that may appear uneven with bends and curves to create areas of fast and slow-moving water. All of the below methods are used to give our fish and invertebrate species a range of potential habitat types, which can enhance our waterways as a whole.
Streams that flow through livestock farms are at risk for pollution from the stock. To limit the amount of waste that enters a stream, fences are recommended. These form a riparian buffer of ground that can be used for naturally filtering dirty water before it reaches a stream. The general rule is that the larger your buffer, the more effective the filtering process will be.
There are a few considerations to think of before putting any stakes in the ground:
Allowing rivers to reclaim areas that they would naturally flood into is part of allowing streams to grow and change overtime.
When your river has room to meander and flood, the environmental value of your property can improve. The area around a stream provides habitat and wetland expansion for native birds and fish, potentially forming successful long-term ecosystems. Leaving undeveloped space around a stream on your property means there is room for it to reshape and develop overtime.
Willow trees can cause a number of issues in streams because of their large root systems. They can create blockages and reduce stream flows because they take up so much water. While the removal process may disturb sediment and cause some erosion initially, in the long-term they shade out native plantings you may have if they aren't removed. Getting professional help for willow removal is recommended because of the dangers with tree felling.
Native tree planting is one of the easiest and most common ways to improve stream health, it is an accessible and reasonably inexpensive process that improves shading and reduces the erosion potential of streams. Riparian planting of native trees, shrubs, and other vegetation can greatly enhance habitat, especially when plants overhang the stream. The benefits include keeping the water cool, providing insects for fish to eat, and providing woody debris for habitat. Community stream planting can be a great engagement technique for an area, as well as easing the workload. You may even consider starting your own catchment group.
If you are interested in starting a catchment group, please contact the Council Freshwater Improvement Team at [email protected], or you can contact Landcare Trust.
Report anything that does not seem right to you. This could include:
Note: If you provide photos it will greatly assist us in determining the urgency of the issue.
Cows out of Creeks (pdf 205 KB)
Riparian Fencing Setback Distances (pdf 914 KB)
As New Zealand’s freshwater legislation is changing to prioritise riverine health and wairua above human use of freshwater resources, how can we all work together to achieve better ecological outcomes?
This was a question that our staff, contractors and community representatives considered during a well-received workshop around improving the ecological health of rivers, managing river hazards and protecting infrastructure associated with it.
Senior Resource Scientist Freshwater & Estuarine Ecology Trevor James ran Council’s first Stream Ecological Rehabilitation Workshop in late-2021 with members of our Environmental Information, Community Infrastructure and Environmental Policy teams.
The workshop began with an online presentation which discussed biodiversity and habitat in the Tasman District, in-stream ecological engineering for freshwater habitat improvement, fluvial geomorphology considerations for freshwater improvement projects, and the Freshwater legislation and its future implementation.
You can check out a recording of it here.
Workshop participants also saw first hand the results of a major collaborative work program to redirect Borck Creek through Richmond’s Berryfields subdivision. Ecological engineering principles were effectively implemented to return Borck Creek to a more natural pattern of flow and improve the diversity of habitats.
Great discussions were had regarding the challenges to balance engineering constraints and ecological goals within the project. A stream walk through the various habitats designed into the river plan highlighted successes and lessons that can be applied to future projects.
The workshop was such a success with the team happy to run future workshops on demand.
For further information on learning about the ecology of our streams or joining us on a fish survey, please contact:
Trevor James, Tasman District Council Resource Scientist
Phone: 03 543 8400
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