Saturday, March 30, 2024

Urban run-off floods nearby farms

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Farming on the city limits presents a paradox for Papamoa farmer Andrew Dovaston, one that on his bad days farming sometimes has him thinking about the benefits of cashing up to keen developers.
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He is one of about a dozen farmers remaining down Bell Road, the boundary between Western Bay of Plenty District and Tauranga City and over the years he has seen the city’s lights creep ever closer as development pushes southwards from the country’s fastest-growing city.

The second-generation Dovaston family property was developed by Dovaston’s parents when they moved from Britain, initially intent on leaving their farming careers there behind and buying a service station. 

“But they saw this land down here, rough and full of willows and thought it looked like a good option to develop, sell off and then buy a garage with the funds.” 

But 52 years later the family is still there, still growing maize on the peaty 101ha of dead flat country squeezed between the Tauranga eastern link motorway and the old Te Puke highway to the east and west and city’s creep to the north.

But rather than rail against the almost inevitable southern housing drift towards him Dovaston admits there is inevitably the thought greater pressure for housing will ultimately make the family property worth more. 

The family was once before offered money to sell up but he admits after this summer the appeal is somewhat greater.

“This year we were trying to grow maize in about nine inches of water after flooding right on the time the crop was supposed to be germinating. In 52 years we are now looking at the worst crop we have ever seen.”

And, ironically, it is the urban creep to the north he attributes that problem to. 

With its extensive housing subdivisions on typically wet, peaty soil Papamoa has now become a giant catchment of cement and roof tiles that sluice the Bay of Plenty’s almost tropical rainstorms away to the south down his district’s rural drainage system and ultimately out to sea.

“But the problem is the drainage system here simply cannot cope with the amount of water it is now getting, pushing it over onto our farmland, and this is the result, crops that are significantly poorer than they should be.”

A neighbouring farmer has had to regrass his property twice in one year from floods the concreting over already wet soil has caused.

“We are now only about a dozen farmers against about 30,000 residents and figure we are not going to be the ones who get heard on this.”

Philosophical about the impact of urban creep on his operation Dovaston feels the family is luckier than some in the district, particularly those persisting with dairy farming. 

“Farmers right against the new houses can’t use lime due to the dust and others will get complaints about effluent spreading.

“We are still pretty rural now but the time is coming.”

He acknowledges the conflict he feels about his family selling up what they founded and the bigger picture issues around how much land New Zealand can lose before it compromises its ability to feed itself.

“But there is also that challenge there, about where the next generation of farmers is going to come from – people do not seem that interested in farming either.”

Dovaston also appreciates the ironies of now being so close to town but not having the luxury of rubbish collection, road lighting or even high speed broadband.

“I have to admit I can see both sides of this conflict between land use. 

“If we were to move I know it’s unlikely this place would be sold for farming.”

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