Beach restoration outlined

BY KRIS DANDO - KAPI-MANA NEWS

Dune restoration work, removal of problem plant species and the quality of the water at Titahi Bay beach are subjects close to the heart of many in the coastal suburb.

The public had the chance to quiz Porirua City Council and their contracted experts last Thursday night at the surf club on these issues.

Many of the 40 people who gathered for the "talk and walk" would have left with a better understanding of how PCC envision the future of the beach via their draft natural systems action plan.

Phil Nordberg, council's manager of water and drainage assets, said problems around water quality and high-bacterial counts in past summers "were being addressed" and there was a testing programme in place now.

Illegal connections will be investigated and ageing sewer pipes running behind the beach were inspected and repaired this year.

"We are acknowledging the problems and fronting up," Mr Nordberg said.

Reducing the amount of stormwater reaching the beach is a big concern, with one option  extending pipes away from the toe of the dunes  likely to cost $100,000.

Harley Spence, from Coastline Consultants Ltd, gave an overview of the history, unique features and what the future could have in store for the beach.

He said PCC's beach reserves management plan, published last year, helped them develop a brief for the natural systems action plan.

"It is an absolute pleasure to come to a place and see there has been a lot of great thinking already. Often we will go somewhere and people do not have any thoughts about what they want to achieve  it makes our job a lot harder."

Managing erosion and restoring the "ecological integrity" of the beach is important, with repairing the dunes central to any strategy, Mr Spence said.

The sand naturally moves backwards and forwards because of wind and storms, but human beings have made the most impact.

Only in a few areas, like the Catlins in Southland and the South Island's West Coast, can we see beaches as they would have been 100 years ago.

The introduction of houses, grazing, grass, walls, roads, stormwater and exotic plants have all contributed to the changes.

"People have lived here [Titahi Bay] and changed the system, we've seen it right across the country. The key is what can we practically do from here on out, what can we realistically achieve?"

Mr Spence, and Dave Bergin, from Environmental Restoration Ltd, have divided Titahi Bay beach into six zones, each of which requires different priorities.

Suggestions they have made include restricting vehicle access at the northern end (off Bay Dr), tackling weeds like pampas and marram so "desirable" species like taupata and ngaio could regenerate, dune re-shaping and stormwater pipe extensions.

"Every single site is different and you have to start small and build things up," Dr Bergin said.

Following their presentations, the meeting was split into three groups, with two taking a brief walk  one to look at dune restoration, the other to see problem plant species proposed to be removed  while the remainder, not fancying the southerly wind, stayed at the surf club to discuss the plant species that might be planted in the dunes.

All suggestions raised in the draft natural systems action plan are open for public comment, with submissions closing December 11.