This report provides a summary of the investigations
undertaken in the coastal area by Greater Wellington in
the period since the last State of the Environment Report
in 1999.

These investigations have focussed on:
- measuring the quantity of contaminants being
discharged in urban stormwater;
- establishing baseline information on the state of
contamination in shellfish and marine sediments at
selected areas around the Regions coastline;
- identifying the effects of historical catchment land cover
changes on estuary sedimentation in Pauatahanui Inlet;
and
- developing an understanding of broad scale habitat at
a number of sandy beaches and river estuaries around
Wellington Harbour and on the South Coast.

These investigations provide an indication of the present
state of the coastal environment and, in the case of the
estuary sedimentation, an indication of historical changes
in sedimentation rates in Pauatahanui Inlet.

They provide information which can be used to assess
the effectiveness of the Regional Policy Statement
(Wellington Regional Council 1995) in particular the
following objectives relating to the coastal environment.