Monday March 7th

Rivers as Sewers
Rivers, once the living space of people in the Manawatu and Horowhenua areas have in many respects become sewers and drains. In their historical introduction to their book Kaitiaki 2010 Selby Mulholland and Moore show the priority of Pakeha interests over Maori with special reference to the use of rivers as sewers and places for the discharge of all kinds of effluent.
Later Selby and Moore say (2010:43) that in many ways Ngati Pareraukawa, the marae and the surrounding homes were invisible to the Borough Council and the new settlers of Levin. At one stage in the 1950s things were so bad that there were very few people living in the marae area. This is an example that shows the river dwelling site turned into a sewer in extremis.
To the East there was a polluted lake, to the west a piggery, to the North the Hokio stream became polluted and to the south sewage was spread and there was a large rubbish dump. The development of so-called solutions such as the dry land sewage disposal at ‘the Pot’ to the south actually contributed to the polluted environment of Ngati Pareraukawa. The nearby Anawahata stream became polluted by farm runoff.
Selby and Moore lend themselves to action research or at least field based research in their use of the marae minute book, careful document development and planning. Their work allows a dynamic approach.
The 1991 RMA seems to have served as a point of positive reference and the marae committee minute book recorded many objections under this Act as it became something of a rallying point for Ngati Pareraukawa.
Mullholland in his article in Kaitiaki tells an extraordinary and generally true tale of the Manawatu River as a sewer which shows the same kind of thing that Selby and Moore are saying regarding the Hokio Stream. He talks about a systematic failure of councils to deal with the pollution of the river. Even recent agreements such as the 2003 Dairying and Clean Stream Accord seem to have been of questionable value according to Mulholland.
Mulholland quotes Moore to show how the river afforded a locale through which groups of people traditionally moved;
The Manawatu River was so rich with quality eel that it was not uncommon for entire hapu to relocate their people to areas closer to the Manwatu river in the fishing season for no other reason than to fish for eel… Eel became the staple diet for many Maori in the Horowhenua and the Manwatu and their reliance on this food source made it devastating when the number of eel began to dwindle. Moore 2006:3
The history of sewage discharge into the Manawatu River as outlined by Mulholland is disconcertingly vile. From the 1890s until 1958 raw sewage was discharged into the river. In 1968 there was a new treatment plant established, Sewage and effluent came from Palmerston North, Feilding, Foxton, Linton Military Camp and Mangahao Village. Rubbish was tipped into the river at various places. Meat wastes came from abattoirs and freezing works in Feilding and Longburn. A wool scour and boiling down works in Feilding also contributed to the pollution (2010 128).
Mulholland’s horror story continues with fish kills due to lack of oxygen in 1978 and 1984. In 1985 a secondary sewage plant is established but in 1993 it is still possible to discharge raw sewage into the river. There were questions about the discharge of leachate from the landfill at Awapuni into the river in 2006. Mulholland refers to an open letter from Dr Mike Joy in the same year suggesting that the migratory native fish species; shortjaw kokopu, banded kokopu, koaro and redfin bully are no longer found in approximately two-thirds of the Manawati catchment.
Mulholland mentions review processes including a Memorandum of Understanding between Tanenuiarangi o Manawatu and New Zealand Pharmaceuticals that occurred despite pollution affecting Muaupoko and Ngati Taukawa further downstream Mulholland also notes comments by Buddy Mikaere in 2008 that the mauri of the river would not deteriorate. Mulholland mentions the One Plan as he finishes his discussion in Kaitiaki leaving conclusions about the plan open.
Footmote
On Feb 1 the Editor of the Manawatu Standard noted in an appropriately scathing editorial that the E-coli levels of the Foxton River Loop were coming in at an astonishingly high level of 4800. The acceptable level is 260.
Bibliography
Barnes, A. 2006 Citing Whaia te Mahere Taiao a Hauraki: Hauraki Environmental Plan (16/06/2006) Submission made by Alex Barnes Resource Consent Number 102909 by Fonterra Cooperative Group Ltd for the Discharge to the Manawatu River of Milk Processing Wastewater and Condensate Cooling Water from their Longburn Factory.
Bennett, April 2010 Uncharted Waters- recent settlements as new spaces for enhancing Maori participation in fresh-water management and decision making in Selby, Moore and Mulholland, 2010: 175-184
Cleave, Peter 2009 Takutai, the foreshore and seabed, Campus Press
Cunningham, B.T, Moar, N. T, Torrie, A.W, Parr, P.J, (1953) A survey of the western coastal dune lakes of the North Island, New Zealand. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research. 4(2): 343-386
Death, F., and R. G. Death. 2005. River Health of the Manawatu-Wanganui Region. Massey University
Hingston, Ken 2006 Foreshore and Seabed in Mulholland 2006
2010 Environment as a marae locale in Selby, Moore and Mulholland
Moore, P. 2006 Submission by Pataka Moore: Resource Consent Number 102909 by Fonterra Cooperative Group Ltd for the Discharge to the Manawatu River of Milk Processing Wastewater and Condensate Cooling Water from their Longburn Factory.
Mulholland, Malcolm and contributors, 2006 State of the Maori Nation; twenty first century issues in Aotearoa, Reed
Park, G. (1995) Nga Ururoa (the groves of life)- ecology and history in a New Zealand Landscape, Victoria University Press, Wellington
Ruru, Jacinta 2009 The legal voice of Maori in Freshwater Governance. A Literature Review, Lincoln University, Landcare Research
Selby R, Moore P, Mullholland, M 2010 Maaori and the environment:Kaitiaki Huia Publishers
Tipa, Gail and Tierney, Laurel (April 2006) A cultural Health Index for Streams and Waterways: a tool for nationwide use A Report prepared for the Ministry for the Environment
Turia, Tariana, March 27 2010 ‘Restorative Justice: turning the tide’ speech to National Restorative Justice Aotearoa Practitioners Conference



Written by Peter Cleave