Cardrona and Wanaka lakefront miss out on millions

Cardrona’s proposed wastewater pipeline and treatment plant and Wanaka’s lakefront development plan both failed to secure central government funding, the Queenstown Lakes District Council learned last week.

Both were put forward by the council as “shovel-ready” projects alongside three Queenstown based projects. Four of the five projects joined 802 other shovel-ready projects from around the country to make it onto the short list but only stage one of the Queenstown town centre arterial road project and the Queenstown CBD street upgrades were approved for funding and have been allocated $85M.

The council is still committed to delivering these community assets and will continue to pursue any suitable funding opportunities to assist in doing so, mayor Jim Boult said.

More work needed on water quality

Poor water quality is not just a rural issue. PHOTO: Wanaka App

Urban and rural waterways are both under pressure, according to a national picture summary of New Zealand’s water quality released by Land, Air Water, Aotearoa (LAWA) for World Rivers Day (September 28).

Otago Regional Council (ORC) chair Andrew Noone said there were some good indicators in Otago’s water quality trends, but they also showed more work was needed to reverse the course of water quality degradation.

“What the National Picture shows is that poor water quality is not just a rural issue. It’s clear from these results that our urban catchments are also in need of attention,” he said. “Good water quality is everyone’s responsibility, and it’s going to take a collective effort - not just from our farmers, but also in our towns and cities - to see improvements across Otago.”

Otago’s water quality is generally very good, with more than two thirds of sites graded as having ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ quality in ORC’s recent state of the environment monitoring, and many Otago waterways are seeing water quality improvements, thanks largely to work being done in communities and catchment groups. 

More robust regulation is needed around urban and rural land use, alongside the good efforts being made on the ground, Andrew said. 

“As well as tighter national legislation introduced through this year’s Essential Freshwater package, ORC is working on a new Land and Water Regional Plan to comprehensively and sustainably manage freshwater in Otago.”

Obsidian coming to your home screen

Team Wells member Marguax Hackett. PHOTO: Neil Kerr

Footage from the revamped Winter Games NZ event, Obsidian, will be aired on Sky Sport NZ each Tuesday for four weeks.

Three teams (each with seven elite competitors) competed in five challenges at local skifields during August. 

The first show aired last night (Tuesday September 29) on Sky Sport NZ Channel 50 at 7:30pm, and there will be a show each week for the next three weeks (same time, same channel).

The shows will also be aired on Free to Air channel Prime the next day.

Watch some of the best images from each of the teams.

Regular testing needed for private bores

Private bores should be tested regularly. PHOTO: thisNZlife

The Otago Regional Council is reminding people who use private bores for drinking water to have them regularly tested and to ensure the bore head is well secured.

The reminder comes after the ORC’s state of the environment monitoring bores detected elevated levels of E. coli in two locations on the lower Waitaki Plains. E. coli is a subset of faecal bacteria. Any water that contains E. coli above drinking water standards is considered unsuitable to drink without treatment.

Water users should treat water (with chlorination, ozonation, boiling, or adequate filtration) or access an alternative water source if they are uncertain about its safety, the ORC said.

Find more information on ‘How to protect your well water’, including testing information, here.

Pharmacists recognised

New Zealand’s pharmacists have gone above and beyond to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. PHOTO: Supplied

It was World Pharmacists Day on Friday (September 25) and the Ministry of Health (MoH) thanked pharmacists, technicians and their teams for the important part they play in improving the health outcomes of New Zealanders.

“Pharmacists are trusted and highly skilled health professionals and their work is integral to the delivery of a wide range of treatment and care,” MoH pharmacy clinical chief advisor Andi Shirtcliffe said.

The theme of the International Pharmaceutical Federation’s World Pharmacists Day was “Transforming global health”, and Andi said the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the lives of people across the world and “brought the value of a cohesive healthcare system to the fore”.

Andi said New Zealand’s pharmacists, technicians and their teams have gone “above and beyond” to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and care for those affected by it, as well as continuing to cater to the ongoing daily medicines related needs of New Zealanders.