Desilting of Onepoto Domain Ponds Underway

John Gillon from

Council contractors have been hard at work segmenting the ponds at Onepoto Domain, and catching eels to relocate them safely to the stream while the ponds are desilted.
Work is now underway on desilting the ponds at Onepoto Domain, and should be completed before Christmas. During this work, the end of the carpark and turning circle will be fenced off to hold bins to store silt from the ponds.
The Kaipātiki Local Board asked for the ponds to be looked at again due complaints from the public on water quality and flooding issues. As a result, the following programme of work is now underway, primarily focused on the water quality:

* Removal of Raupo and silt at Northern Tributary (area E)
* Silt removal at Northern Inlet (area A)
* Silt removal around bridge (area B)
* Silt removal around outlet (area C)
* Silt removal around Western Side of Pond (area D)
* Outlet structure maintenance/cleaning (area F)
* Outlet pipe flushing (area G)

Sailboat Clubs:
I've had confirmation that the sailing groups that use the ponds should be unaffected, but if that needs to change that they will be provided with plenty of warning.

Future:
The Healthy Water department of Council has informed the Local Board that "The pond does not function effectively as a stormwater treatment device as it was not a purposely built stormwater treatment pond and won’t meet our current pond/wetland standards. Our opinion would be this pond requires further attention and redesign to meet GD01 standards, including the addition of an appropriate forebay and bathymetry, and possibly a new outlet structure and pipe. A planning assessment should be completed to size those features and could be an improvement in the future."