Harper's Harbour mission

Harper presenting at the NZ Coastal Association's conference

Harper Spurway may not have reached her 14th birthday yet, but she’s already discovered her life’s passion: protecting our waterways so they remain clean and healthy for generations to come.

Since completing a NIWA Science Fair project on the topic last year, Harper has continued to use commercially available API kits to test the water in Manukau Harbour, and found that the results aren't just consistently bad - they're dismal.

“I collected 540 water samples across 10 different sites, across several water quality parameters, such as temperature, nitrate, nitrite, and pH levels,” Harper explains. “What we found was really poor water quality across a range of parameters."

With no clear national guidelines in Aotearoa, she compared her results to standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Alarmingly, 88% of samples exceeded toxic thresholds for nitrate, posing serious risks to aquatic life.

“The Manukau Harbour is a taonga,” she says. “It’s the largest harbour for wading birds in New Zealand, with 60% of New Zealand wading birds come here at some time. That makes protecting it even more important.”

Her research also revealed a strong link between land use and poor water quality. Sites near industrial areas and the Māngere Wastewater Treatment Plant, which discharges 1.4 million Aucklanders' wastewater into the harbour every day, were particularly unacceptable. She reached out to community groups like the Māngere Ratepayers and Residents Association and the Manukau Harbour Restoration Society who corroborated her results.

Harper is determined to get her message heard by the right people, believing that urgent action is needed by local and central governments.

Harper has just come back from presenting her findings at the New Zealand Coastal Society's annual conference in Napier where she spoke for 15 minutes to an all-adult audience of environmental scientists and activists.

Recently, Harper was shocked to learn that Taumata Arowai / The Water Services Authority, was updating their water quality standards - but downwards, and that monitoring had virtually ceased after Auckland's transition into a Super City.

According to the Manukau Harbour Restoration Society, there are also wastewater pipes flowing into the harbour that were connected illegally. At Favona under the bridge, she's seen overturned containers with chemicals seeping into the water.

"It's a scandal. Regulation and regular testing are necessary,” she insists. “The harbour is a delicate estuary. It won’t be long before it’s beyond repair unless the government intervenes. We need to innovate.”

Harper's mission to save the harbour will continue next year - she may be even look into a career in the field post school.

“Since I was very young, I’ve always been interested in environmental science,” Harper says. “I’m inspired by the whakataukī: ‘Ahakoa pehea te roa o te tangata e noho ana ki runga i te whenua, ka mate ia; engari te whenua, he whenua tipu tonu, he whenua ora tonu.’ Even when we are all gone, the whenua will still be there. It’s what drives me to action like nothing else.”

• Harper is planning to start a NIWA Science Fair Club next year at Avondale College for students wanting to create and submit their own project.