Sandstone Catchment
The Living Streams project in the Sandstone catchment started in 2007 in response to concerns about water quality in the Sandstone Stream. Water quality is affected by land management throughout the entire catchment. Research has shown that careful management of soil and nutrients, stock exclusion from streams, and riparian planting are effective ways to improve water quality. Farmers approached Environment Southland to find out what they could do.
At that time, only 65% of the waterways in the catchment were fenced off and Living Streams identified stock exclusion as a crucial first step towards improving water quality in the catchment. Farmers were offered financial incentives for riparian fencing and other projects that would help to protect and improve water quality in the Sandstone Stream.
Since 2007, the community has worked very hard to implement riparian management projects in the Sandstone catchment. Fourteen farmers have participated in the programme.
List of achievements:
- So far, Sandstone farmers have put up 23km of new fences to exclude stock from waterways. Approximately 85% of the waterways are fenced off.
- They have established riparian plantings on 3 properties to provide shade and to filter overland run-off.
- They have extended 4 water systems so stock no longer drink directly from the stream.
- They have improved a culvert to reduce the amount of animal waste and sediment getting into the waterway.
Throughout the programme, Living Streams has worked alongside farmers, providing advice and financial incentives to assist them with these projects. Our water quality monitoring programme keeps track of how water quality in the stream changes over time.
Environment Southland is the brand name of Southland Regional Council.