Project Twin Streams

Our class went on a thought-provoking fieldtrip to Project Twin Streams in Henderson yesterday. 

The part that grabbed my attention was the enormity of the project - and that impression was from seeing only a very small part of the total project.  In particular, it was fascinating seeing how the project operates at a micro level requiring intensive community engagement.

Source: Katrina David

The streams have gone from a negative space for the community - regularly being flooded and used as a rubbish dump (a cleanup of a small section of the stream the weekend before our visit yielded seven tyres and one shopping trolley, amongst other things), to a space where individuals and groups can interact positively with the stream and its surrounds.

Our seminar is all about communicating places and telling stories linked to water.  Walking the path along the stream’s edge was like seeing a snapshot of the local community.  Different groups care for different sections of the stream, reflecting their priorities and interests by what they have done with their section. 

A class from a local school is responsible for a garden filled with plants used for traditional Maori medicinal purposes.  Another garden has been planted with flaxes by the weaving circle from the nearby Corbans Estate, a community art center.  The members care for the garden and harvest the flax for their use. 

Source: Katrina David

An outdoor education class scientifically monitors the quality of the stream water.  There is a sportsfield that runs alongside part of the stream, where members of a sports team were training during our visit.  Even local people part of a Corrections PD programme are a regular part of the maintenance of the stream.  These plaques are from people who have contributed to the project in some way. 

Source: Katrina David

I asked our tour guide Rata, the Community Co-coordinator of the project, where the community will comes for such an intensive project.  She said the will is there – in church groups, passionate teachers at local schools, other groups in the community etc – it just needs to be tapped into and facilitated.    

Some benefits of the community’s engagement with the stream are obvious, but total benefits must be immeasurable.  Linking it to our seminar, the project overall has created the opportunity for a wide spectrum of the community to create a positive relationship with, take ownership of and take pride in, this local water body.  They have the opportunity to spend time there (in the sportsfield, or commuting along the pathway), growing plants for use, enhancing the quality of the stream itself, protecting the space and being part of a project with the rest of the community.

Project update...

I now have the maps I need to trace the source of water that comes to my house - maps from Watercare showing the water network and distribution zones for from water sources throughout Auckland, and the interactive GIS viewer on Auckland Council's website.  The next step in my research will be to make connections between these maps and then go out and do some field research.

370 million litres

Every day 1.46 million Aucklanders use 370 million litres of treated water, travelling through 9,000 km of pipes.  In the process 40,000 cubic metres of water is lost - per day.

I haven't been able to obtain the maps I need for my proposed project so I am thinking about alternatives.  Mapping these and other figures in a scale and context that people can relate to is one option. 

The idea of mapping scale in an understandable context comes from the interactive BBC Dimensions website.  Using this website people can manipulate statistics from current or historical events into a context that they can relate to. 

For example, this map shows the scale of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, and how the area it would have covered when laid over Auckland:

Source: http://www.howbigreally.com/

The objective of this project would be the same as my original project - raising awareness of the existence of freshwater and its value as a resource in our city and people's lives. 

Draft Auckland Plan and water's place-making role in Auckland

Today the Auckland Council released the draft Auckland Plan – the 30 year overarching strategic vision for Auckland.  Chapter 10 addresses physical and social infrastructure, which includes water. 

The following excerpts from the draft Plan demonstrate (a) the critical importance of water to the city; (b) the economic cost to Auckland of current infrastructure and issues for future supply; (c) the role of water in the place shaping of Auckland.

Critical importance of water infrastructure

The draft plan emphasises the critical importance of water infrastructure:

“Auckland’s water is as intrinsic to the region as the land, and bears a deep cultural significance to Māori with the concept of mauri key to the management of Auckland’s water assets. The sustainable provision of water services is of the highest importance to the Council and the requirement to provide for critical water infrastructure is recognised as a core priority for the Auckland Plan.”
(Page 149 - emphasis added)

and lists indicative examples of existing critical water infrastructure:

• Sources, including dams and extraction facilities

• Freshwater main pipelines

• Ardmore treatment plant

• Huia treatment plant
(Page 147)

Cost of water infrastructure

This second excerpt shows the significance of the location of water sources and the impact of water having to travel over a long distance to reach its destination (as will be demonstrated in my mapping project). 

“The need for additional capacity is met with increasing cost associated with water provision.  The proximate, economical sources for Auckland water have now been exploited, leaving only more distant and expensive options for increasing network supply. In addition, approximately 40,000 cubic metres per day of potable water is lost in conveyance to consumers at a cost of almost $50 per property per year. That amount of leakage brings forward the time when Auckland must invest in a new water source, which will add a substantial cost to water users”

(Page 149)

Not only is there is a high economic cost to water travelling long distances to reach its destination but there is also an environmental cost.  Water is a finite resource and every day that is 40,000 cubic metres of a critical non-renewable resource being lost.  As infrastructure ages, this loss and associated costs will increase.  And as Auckland Council is solely in charge of water supply for Auckland (unlike other large infrastructure such as transport which is shared between central and local government) that means the Council is responsible for these costs.

Water in place-shaping

The draft Plan also states that infrastructure has wider benefits than just delivering necessary functions throughout the city.  Infrastructure has a place-shaping role, and plays a part in creating stronger and more resilient communities: “Infrastructure is a… powerful tool to shape growth within the urban system” (page 145). 

This is illustrated in the diagram: water (potable) is in the bottom layer, giving it a region-wide place shaping role.  Other place-shaping infrastructure becomes more people specific and localised towards the top of the triangle.

Source: Auckland Council

Draft Auckland Plan

My mapping project will illustrate the points the draft Plan raises: remote sources of water, complex and vast networks of pipes and other infrastructure.  My project will also demonstrate the place-shaping role of water infrastructure by portraying this fundamental service in a way that makes the everyday role of water services tangible and accessible.

The draft Auckland Plan is available at: http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/EN/AboutCouncil/PlansPoliciesPublications/theaucklandplan/DRAFTAUCKLANDPLAN/Pages/home.aspx

Methodology

So here's my kitchen tap.  My mapping is going to trace the route that water takes to reach my kitchen.  I'm expecting to encounter pumping stations, reservoirs, a treatment plant and finally following the raw water to its source - most likely a dam in the Hunuas, but possibly the Waitakeres, the Waikato River or groundwater - or perhaps a mixture.  That's the question.

I'm also keen to learn about the elevation of the different nodes, and the role gravity plays in the system - flowing from high in the Waitakeres, to a volcanic cone in the city, to my house - perhaps?


Source: Author's own.

My research will focus on the systems (part of the 900km of pipes and various infrastructure) around and through the city.  So first research stop will be Watercare, Auckland Council council-controlled organisation in charge of water and its infrastructure in Auckland in the hope they can give me a detailed plan of freshwater systems in the city-western suburbs.  Then hopefully I will be able to trace back from there.

Presentation - I'm thinking two maps - one Auckland-wide water infrastructure systems map based on the London Underground map.  The second is the specific tracing water from my house to its source. 

I like this map of the Highline in New York (referred to in an earlier blog), particularly the photographic inserts which connect the points with place and add context and depth to the map.  Water infrastructure in the city tends to be invisible or not prominent - photographs of reservoirs or a pumping station will increase awareness of the necessity of this infrastructure.

 Firstly however will be my research - starting with Watercare.








Source: http://www.thehighline.org/