The before and after shots tell the story: West Coast Regional Council staff have had some wins in the ongoing war on the pestilential water weed, Parrot’s Feather.
Originally dumped from domestic aquariums, the South American plant has spread to many parts of New Zealand, and the WCRC has been tackling infestations in Kongahu at Karamea and Kaniere, near Hokitika.
Parrot’s Feather formed dense floating mats on a waterway, outcompeting native plants, reducing water flow, food and habitat for fish.
It could clog pump intakes and drains and spread easily from small fragments.
It could also cause flooding, the council’s environmental science manager Shanti Morgan told the Environment Management committee meeting on Thursday.
The team has used a combination of herbicide and manual control – pulling the plants out by hand, to free the affected waterways, Morgan said.
Ngāti Māhaki representative Jacqui Douglas congratulated the team on the results.
“I’m familiar with this property, I know the people, and it’s really quite remarkable. “
Morgan said the team had tried a variety of methods to get rid of the weed, including sodium chloride (salt) but that was successful only in small ponds.
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“We’ve tried a lot of things; Parrot’s Feather is really very hard to control – it hasn’t been eradicated anywhere so we are just looking at containing it and reducing the spread.
“It’s spread on diggers which is a real problem so it’s about making sure property owners are aware that they’ve got it and making sure they’re cleaning their machinery. “
By Lois Williams, Local Democracy Reporter
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
