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Environmental Impact Analysis Worksheet

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Environmental Impact Analysis Worksheet

Read the case study and examine the evidence. Then analyse the environmental impacts, weigh up responsibilities and propose a response. Use evidence from the case study in your explanations.

Case study: Netball by the estuary

A two-day netball tournament is held at a sports ground beside a tidal estuary in Aotearoa New Zealand. About 600 players and spectators attend. After heavy rain on the first day, litter and muddy water wash from the car park and playing fields into a stormwater drain that empties into the estuary. Volunteers find plastic food wrappers, drink bottles and food scraps near the drain. The estuary is habitat for fish, shellfish, wading birds and plants. Tournament organisers can change event practices, while the local council manages stormwater infrastructure. The estuary is also important to mana whenua and local recreational users.

Evidence from the site

Volunteers sampled water at two locations on the morning after the rain. The upstream site is above the stormwater outlet; the downstream site is below it. These are single samples, so they suggest a pattern but do not prove the cause on their own.

Measure

Upstream

Downstream

Turbidity (NTU)

Nitrate (mg/L)

0.6

1.4

Visible litter within 10 m

0 items

11 items

Analyse the impact

Answer using details from the case study and evidence table. Where evidence is limited, explain what further information would help.

1.Which pathway most directly carried litter and muddy water from the tournament site to the estuary?

Evaporation from the courts
Runoff flowing into a stormwater drain
Fish carrying rubbish upstream
Wind carrying all pollution into deep water

2.Calculate the downstream increase in turbidity compared with upstream. Include the unit and show your subtraction.

3.Select the two observations that support the idea that water quality was poorer downstream after the rain. Select both observations.

Downstream turbidity was higher than upstream.
More litter was visible downstream than upstream.
Upstream nitrate was higher than downstream.
Both sites had identical readings.

4.Give one possible ecological effect of plastic litter and one possible effect of muddy runoff on estuary organisms or habitats.

5.True or false: These single water samples prove that the netball tournament caused every difference between the upstream and downstream sites. Explain your choice.

6.The nitrate reading was 0.8 mg/L higher downstream. Suggest one way nitrate could enter the runoff and one possible consequence of excess nutrients in water.

Rights, responsibilities and response

Consider the interests of people connected to the estuary as well as the organisms and habitats that depend on it. A strong plan should prevent pollution, check whether it works and involve relevant groups.

7.Match each group with the responsibility that best fits its role in this case.

Tournament organisers
Local council
Event visitors
Mana whenua and local users

Maintain stormwater systems and support water-quality monitoring
Share local knowledge and perspectives on the estuary
Use bins or take rubbish away and avoid littering
Reduce event waste and keep litter away from drains

8.Choose the most useful first action for the next tournament and justify it using the case study.

Add clearly placed rubbish and recycling stations, and volunteers to check the drain area.
Do nothing because estuaries can absorb unlimited pollution.
Move all litter into the stormwater drain so the courts look tidy.
Ban water-quality checks so there are fewer results to interpret.

9.Propose a simple monitoring plan to test whether changes at future tournaments reduce the impact. Name at least two measurements or observations and when or where to collect them.

10.The estuary matters to wildlife, local recreation and mana whenua. Describe one ethical consideration for deciding how the tournament should operate, and explain whose views should be included.