Carterton tackles stream quality

Residents, farmers, iwi, health professionals, Greater Wellington and the Carterton District Counciare forming a group to clean up the Mangatarere Stream in Carterton

Jill Greathead and Ray Craig

Monitoring shows it is one of the more polluted streams in the region. Greater Wellington investigations identified pollutants from stormwater, the town wastewater treatment plant, agricultural runoff and groundwater.

Jill Greathead, who lives by the stream and is a Carterton District Councillor, is leading the charge to get the community involved.

“More than 100 people turned out to a meeting to discuss our stream and what affects it. These

people are keen to change their behaviour, encourage others and do the hard work on the ground. We are mindful that much of the catchment is farmland and we need to involve landowners to come up with solutions that work for everyone.”

Jill and environmental award winning dairy farmer Ray Craig have been organising guided walks for people to become better acquainted with the stream.

 “The community wants to get stuck into fencing and planting our stream,” says Jill. “This is not the entire solution but while others are working that out we want to beautify it and make its environment more attractive for people, wildlife, stock – the works.”