At home, at work or out and about: Keep it out of the stream!

Washing your vehicle?

Stormwater drains are designed for rainwater only – wash water entering these drains is harmful to local waterways and aquatic life. Wash water is contaminated by oils, fuel residues, metals, solvents, degreasers, detergents, and more. To keep your car clean and protect the environment, keep these things in mind when washing your car or vehicle:

Think about the location

• Park your car on a grassy area or gravel surface, this allows wash water to soak into the ground. Or use a commercial car washing facility. These facilities direct wash water to the wastewater treatment plant where it can be treated.

Minimise your water usage

• When cleaning, use a bucket and cloth/sponge instead of a brush attachment on a hose. When rinsing, use a hose with a shut-off nozzle.

Rinse responsibly

• Direct your rinse water onto grass or gravel. This helps prevent wash water from entering the stormwater network.

Dispose of wash water correctly

• Empty your bucket down your property’s gully trap or sink. This ensures the water is directed to the wastewater treatment plant.

Detergents and ingredients in car wash soaps cause harm to aquatic life because they:

• can disrupt the oxygen available in the water
• often contain heavy metals like copper, zinc, and lead. These metals are toxic and accumulate in sediment and water
• can disrupt the balance of existing ecosystems by changing the chemical make-up of the water.

These factors can lead to the decline of native species – something we want to avoid!

For more information read our brochure here.

Cleaning out the spa or pool?

Pool and spa chemicals do not belong in the Karamū Stream. Stormwater drains are designed for rainwater only. In the Hastings district no one can discharge swimming or spa pool water (arising from emptying or backwashing) into the stormwater network without an approval. Doing so is a breach of the Hastings District Council Consolidated Bylaw. You can read the Water Services chapter of the bylaw online here. 

Options for emptying your swimming pool or spa water include:

• Disposing of swimming or spa pool water on your property, allowing it to soak into the ground. Check your property has a suitable soakage disposal area, and that flows will not cause land instability issues (erosion, slips, scouring of land) or enter neighbouring properties. Before disposal, let the water sit for one week without the addition of chemicals.
• Disposing of swimming or spa pool water through your properties gully trap, which directs flows to the Clive Wastewater Treatment Plant.
• Using a pool service that follows proper disposal guidelines.

Swimming and spa pool water discharges can cause harm to our waterways by:

• Negatively affecting plants and trees along the water’s edge. These plants provide critical habitat and food sources for several different species.
• Containing high levels of chlorine. When released into waterways, the chlorine can change the pH and chemical make-up of the water it ends up in. This can stop organisms from breathing and feeding properly. As a result, organisms like fish, insects, and algae, are harmed disrupting the balance of the ecosystem and leading to the death of sensitive species.
• Containing sediments, debris, and other particles that cloud the water, clog the gills of fish, and disrupt the natural flow of the waterway.

For more information read our brochure here.

Construction, demolition, or renovation projects?

Ensure you’re doing your part to protect Hastings’ waterways, landscapes, and communities by implementing effective sediment and erosion controls.

Why it matters:

1. Prevents stormwater pollution and water quality degradation in local waterways
   Without proper controls, sediment from these sites can be washed into stormwater systems during rain events. Sediment-laden runoff can carry pollutants like oil, grease, hydrocarbons, and heavy metals into the Karamū Stream.
   
   
2. Helps maintain stormwater infrastructure
   Excess sediment can clog Hastings’ district urban stormwater network, leading to decreased efficiency, surface flooding, infrastructure damage, and increased maintenance costs. Implementing controls helps ensure the stormwater network remains functional and effective at managing runoff.
   
   
3. Protects aquatic habitats
   Sediment entering waterways can smother fish habitats, destroy aquatic plants, reduce oxygen levels, and increase temperature and turbidity in the water.
   
   
4. Upholds the value of kaitiakitanga
   Guardianship, protection, and conservation of the natural environment and the resources within it, for which our people depend on.
   
   
5. Avoids regulatory compliance and penalties
   Hastings District Council has regulations that require sediment and erosion controls on construction and demolition sites. Adhering to these regulations helps avoid fines and penalties.

Erosion and sediment control measures:

Site management:

• Sweep the site daily to keep sediment off the footpath and out of the stormwater gutter.
• Minimise the areas to be disturbed.
• Stage earthworks by undertaking earthworks in small areas over time.

Stabilise your site:

• Use mulch, hay, pea straw, or other materials to cover exposed areas of soil.
• Pour and dry concrete and lay aggregate as soon as you can.
• Sow seed as soon as you have finished stages of work.
• Keep as much vegetation onsite as possible.

Install silt fences:

Silt fences consist of a filter fabric stretched between wooden or metal posts driven into the ground to prevent sediment from running off disturbed areas into nearby water bodies or onto adjacent properties.

Create a stormwater bund:

Bunds are embankments or barriers that hold back stormwater, typically constructed from earth or other materials.

Apply drain protection:

Place a series of silt socks and booms around drains and in stormwater gutters. These are used to filter sediment-laden runoff before it reaches the drain.

Are you a smoker?

Don’t throw your butts on the streets. Every butt that lands up on the road goes into the stormwater system, then into the Karamū Stream and out to sea. International environmental agencies estimate that trillions of butts are tossed onto roadways and pavements a year, all landing up in the sea via stormwater networks.

Littering?

Just don’t. There is no reason to throw litter on the ground. Put your takeaway packaging, soft drink bottles, dirty nappies and picnic leavings in the nearest litter bin – there are hundreds across Hastings. If there is not one close to you, put the rubbish back in your car or bag and take it home where you can recycle what you can and add the rest to your general rubbish.

Walking the dog?

Luckily, most dog walkers these days do pick up their animal’s leavings. However there are still a few who don’t and the faeces they leave behind land up in the Karamū Stream, via the stormwater system. Carry a bag, pick up the poo, and put it in a doggy-do litter bin if there’s one handy, or take it home and put it in with your general rubbish.

Painting?

Take care cleaning your brushes and rollers. Environmentally-friendly paint can be cleaned from brushes onto the lawn, but water and oil-based paints should be cleaned in a sink so that the paint goes through the sewer system to the wastewater treatment plant, where it is treated. Never tip things like paint, stain or thinners directly into a stormwater drain, or onto paving where rainwater can wash it into a drain.

Mowing and pruning?

Sweep up your grass and hedge clippings and add them to your compost or green waste rubbish pile. Hosing them into the gutter (or letting the rain do it for you) puts them into the stormwater system, adding to the nitrogen load on the Karamū Stream.

Working on machinery or vehicles?

Grease and oil are particularly bad for the environment. Make sure you have some way of ‘catching’ excess grease or oil, and a way of cleaning it up if there is a spill. Keeping it if off the concrete, and therefore out of the drains and waterways, is extremely important.

Industrial and commercial businesses have particular requirements with regard to keeping harmful materials out of the stormwater system. See: Stormwater retention and detention