NZTA develops Huntly wetland
A wetland is being developed in Huntly as part of the work on the Waikato Expressway.
The 4-hectare haven for wildlife and native plants is off Evans Road adjoining the southern end of Lake Kimihia. The area is a degraded swamp that has been grazed by stock for a number of years.
‘‘Our job is to turn it back into a high-quality wetland that will support a variety of wildlife and plants,’’ said Peter Simcock, NZ Transport Agency delivery portfolio manager.
The work requires digging out 30,000 cubic metres of clay to form the open water area and the planting of 50,000 wetland plants.
He said that the largest part of the wetland will be open water to encourage ducks and other wetland bird species to make it their permanent home.
The main body of water will be approximately 3.7ha and the remaining 0.3ha will consist of differing zones of planting that can be on both dry land during the summer and have wet feet during the winter.
Auckland-Waikato Fish & Game will be helping with the transformation and will also be caretaker of the completed wetland.
A barrier will keep the wetland above the normal level of Lake Kimihia, which is under the care of the Department of Conservation.
This is to keep pest fish species out of the wetland and assist water quality. A gate will be installed to allow for the removal of any pest fish species that may enter the wetland during large floods.
The early part of the wetland began with a stream diversion in which ecologists carried out intensive fishing from an old stream, which included catching and destroying 98 carp, which are a pest species.
Nearly 300 tuna (freshwater eels) have been transferred to a safer area. Most were the short-fin species, but endangered long-fin eels were also found.
The wetland construction will continue during February and March with an expected completion in April. When the Huntly section of the expressway is complete, the wetland will be around 500 metres from the highway.
The work is part of an ecological plan developed by NZTA in collaboration with Fish & Game.