Council developing plan for improving Maclean Park
The pond at Maclean Park in Paraparaumu Beach will be empty for the foreseeable future while the Kāpiti Coast District Council develops a plan for improving the park.
The Council has been doing daily monitoring of the amount of water required to keep the pond functioning in response to community feedback.
The latest findings show the average water use per day is 108,000 litres – that’s enough water to service up to 240 households each day (the average Kāpiti household uses around 450 litres of water per day).
Parks and Recreation Manager Alison Law says this amount would increase further over the summer months due to increased evaporation.
“We’re not going to continue filling the pond as it is unsustainable. It will be draining naturally over the next few days and, other than rainfall accumulating, will be empty for the foreseeable future.”
This monitoring period was to help get a clearer understanding of the costs that would be required if it’s decided to keep the pond long term.
“As part the FutureKāpiti Annual plan 2016/17 process we’re committed to working with the community to come up with a development plan for Maclean Park, including future possibilities for the pond,” Ms Law says.
“The park is undoubtedly a gem on the Kāpiti Coast and we would like to ensure that any decision on the future of the pond is made with the future of the whole park in mind.
“We’re currently in the process of confirming how this project will go, and we want to involve the community as much as possible with the future planning of the park.”
During the monitoring phase the flow of incoming water was progressively adjusted to try and maintain a depth of approximately 330 millimetres. This is the desirable level to keep the fountains operating so the water can circulate easily to prevent a build-up of bacteria.
The pond, which built 63 years ago, has required routine maintenance such as chip sealing the base every two years, but Ms Law says the frequency of reactive work to try and keep the pond watertight has increased, particularly in the last few years.