Posted on December 20, 2016
By Brenda Harwood, Otago Daily Times
A group of West Harbour business owners and commercial boat operators are calling for action on the heavily silted Carey’s Bay pontoon.
Only limited use can be made of the 13-metre Dunedin City Council-owned structure, which extends from the Carey’s Bay foreshore into the sheltered water of the bay.
The silt surrounding it means it is almost high and dry at low tide and is deep enough only for smaller boats at high tide.
Carey’s Bay Hotel owner Joanne Kidston and commercial boat operator John McLachlan are leading the call for dredging to remove the silt from around the pontoon to make it more usable in the first instance.
In the longer term, they believe it would be beneficial to extend the pontoon by a few metres to take it into deeper water.
‘‘From half-tide down to low tide the pontoon can’t be used; it comes right out of the water,’’ Mr McLachlan said.
‘‘And even at high tide the bigger boats, and not particularly big boats at that, have trouble using it,’’ Mr McLachlan said.
The Carey’s Bay pontoon has been a feature of Otago Harbour for more than 40 years, and silting has been a growing problem in recent years.
Discussions around dredging and possibly extending the pontoon were held in 2009 and, in 2014, Vision Port Chalmers made a submission to the Otago Regional Council calling for maintenance on the pontoon and other harbour structures.
Ms Kidston said those initial discussions had resulted in much discussion and the group had received 150 letters of support for its ORC submission.
‘‘This is clearly an issue that resonates with a lot of the boaties and people keen to see more use made of our beautiful harbour.’’
The issue has arisen again, and with more urgency, with the increase in cruise ships, more commercial activity on Otago Harbour and the potential for the development of tourism operations.
‘‘We know that there are a lot of operators who would really like to be able to get in here [at Carey’s Bay] to drop and pick up passengers,’’ Ms Kidston said.
‘‘And now that the cycleway is developing on both sides of the harbour, the pressure is mounting from people who would like to develop it as a tourism operation.’’
Mr McLachlan agreed, saying the Carey’s Bay pontoon could become a vital piece of infrastructure in a ‘‘world-class cycling experience around both sides of the harbour’’.
West Harbour Community Board chairman Steve Walker said the issue of the Carey’s Bay pontoon was drawn to the board’s attention at a recent workshop to discuss its 2017-18 plan.
A recommendation from the workshop was that the board support the call for dredging and/ or extension of the pontoon as part of its plan. The final decision would be made at the February board meeting.
‘‘As a board, we see it as an economic development issue,’’ Mr Walker said.
‘‘The hunt is on for a Port Chalmers-side anchor for a crossharbour ferry, and the Carey’s Bay pontoon could be a good fit.’’
Dunedin City Council parks and recreation group manager Tom Dyer said he was made aware of the issue of the pontoon at a recent West Harbour Community Board meeting.
Staff had since been out to investigate the level of silt and what the DCC could do to ensure the facility was available for use.
The DCC had started to work with the Otago Regional Council to determine what steps could be taken to fix the problem, as work to alter the level of the harbour floor would probably be required, Mr Dyer said.
Source: Otago Daily Times
