561 days ago

Westport subject to winter air monitoring

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press

By Brendon McMahon, local democracy reporter

Westport air quality is being surveyed again this winter.

It follows a winter survey by the West Coast Regional Council in 2022 that found air quality in parts of the town might exceed monitoring standards.

An environmental science report to council's Resource Management Committee on Tuesday [June 13] says the range and number of monitoring sites has been expanded to 18 locations for the new winter survey.

"The instruments will be monitoring fine particles of particulate matter in the air (PM 2.5), which can be harmful to human health," the report says.

PM 2.5 is often associated with solid fuel burning.

"On the West Coast we generally see higher levels of particulate matter in the air over winter months due to solid fuel burning for domestic home heating."

Coal fires have traditionally been the main source of domestic heating in Westport and other West Coast towns such as Reefton and Greymouth.
However the latest monitoring project was not targeting individual emission sources but designed to show the levels and variation of PM across the town during the winter months, the report says.

This would help council identify "if there are any air quality issues" in Westport that would require further investigation.

The same survey in 2022 indicated that air quality in parts of the town may exceed monitoring standards, but it was decided to run a repeat in 2023 due to the variability of environmental and anthropogenic factors such as wind speed, air temperature and burning habits.

"Having two winters' worth of data will be more robust and provide a better, more informed understanding of Westport's air quality."

The last PM monitoring in Westport was nearly 20 years ago.

Last winter, the appearance of monitoring stations around Westport prompted some concerns about the council's motive.

Former councillor Laura Coll-McLaughlin, of Westport, noted at the council table in July that social media comment about the air quality project reflected some "mixed community sentiment".

There was also suspicion of "some ulterior motives" but it was positive the council was gaining baseline data, she said.

Environmental science staff pointed out that council was statutorily required to monitor air quality and would need to do a bigger body of work in future around that while allowing for a transition in the type of heating local people could use to keep their homes warm and dry.

The other West Coast town subject to ongoing air quality monitoring by council for years is Reefton.

It sits in an inland basin with typically still weather during winter, resulting in 'smog'.

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15 days ago

⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️

The Team from SPCA New Zealand

It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:

👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️

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7 days ago

Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.

If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?

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Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
  • 61.9% Summer
    61.9% Complete
  • 36.6% Winter
    36.6% Complete
  • 1.5% Other - I'll share below
    1.5% Complete
1458 votes
3 days ago

Worst Xmas ever?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.

Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...

Share your Christmas mishaps below!

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