25 August 2011 Chapter 9 - Coastal Marine 9.2 Issue Maintenance and improvement of water quality of the open coast and the Wairau Lagoons. The East Coast’s water quality is currently very high and there are no direct effluent discharge points other than those in the Wairau Lagoons area. The Wairau Lagoons, are quite distinctive, both physically and ecologically, from the rest of the coastal marine area. They are also the focus of existing issues and conflicts. Reference to the Wairau Lagoon includes the Wairau and Opawa River areas, the Estuary, and Chandlers, Upper and Big Lagoons. The land administered by the Department of Conservation is a Government Purpose Reserve (Wetland Management), with the former wildlife refuge over the Big Lagoon having been revoked. The reserve area also includes many areas below MLWS, as title includes the sea bed throughout much of the lagoons area. This area is the only remaining low- lying wetland. Extensive drainage and channel modification has reduced the extent of the former wetland area. The Council has two roles in the area of discharges into the Wairau Lagoons. It has a service delivery responsibility (collecting and disposing of Blenheim’s sewage effluent which currently involves the exercise of a permit to discharge into the Opawa River which contributes to the Lagoons) and responsibilities for environmental management (including regulation and control of all discharges). The Wairau Estuary is presently the receiving point for partially treated sewage from Riverlands Industrial Estate and in particular the Primary Producers Co-operative Society (PPCS) Freezing Works and the Montana Winery. Many land based activities (particularly farming and horticulture) can also have an effect on the water quality of the Lagoons. The main issue appears to be sediment influx from the catchments during storm events and the subsequent siltation of the Lagoons. The objectives, policies and methods contained in this Plan are based on the view that good water quality is a fundamental community expectation. Poor water quality is a threat to public health and enjoyment of the coast. The New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement notes that clean water is a fundamental community expectation. Poor water quality is a threat to public health and enjoyment of the coast; to industries based on the harvest of coastal resources; and to the survival of coastal ecosystems. This adequately sums up the reasons why many people in Marlborough, especially local iwi and Lagoon users, do not agree with the discharges described above. The next page is 9 - 4 9 - 3B