Timaru

Timaru is the urban hub of South Canterbury and includes a cargo port. It services the agricultural sector and is a distribution point for South Island exports and imports. In Timaru most of the industrial activity is in the northern suburb of Washdyke. Apart from the commercial centre, the land area is largely residential. As a high ridge separates Washdyke from the rest of Timaru and the emission sources are different, air quality in these areas are managed separately. Air quality is currently monitored at a site in Anzac Square (residential) shown as a white dot on the map, with a new industrial site being established in Washdyke after the land use of the Washdyke Flat Road site changed.

In the past PM₁₀ monitoring has been carried out in other areas (shown in grey) to understand air pollution across Timaru city and Washdyke. In Timaru city in 2005, this found that the concentrations were highest in the south (Cain St) and lowest in the west (Hurdley St). These results suggest that the Timaru city site at Anzac Square (close to Cain St) is in a high PM₁₀ concentrations area and management on the basis of measurements at this site is therefore appropriate.

A spatial study was also conducted in Washdyke over three months in 2009. PM₁₀ concentrations were consistently higher north of the Washdyke Flat Road monitoring site (Hilton Highway and Flemington St). For this reason another permanent monitoring site in Washdyke has been sought. In February 2019 the Washdyke Flat Road site was no longer available due to redevelopment and a new site was established 500m to the east.

Benzene was monitored for a year from March 2008 at four sites (Anzac Square, Fraser Park, Waimataitai and Washdyke Flat Road). At the Waimataitai site the benzene concentration was highest at 66% of the annual guideline. The benzene concentrations at the Washdyke Flat Road site were less than one third of the guideline.

Town Summary

Air quality in this town

In Timaru, most of the PM₁₀ is from the burning of wood or coal for home heating. Other outdoor sources of PM₁₀ are motor vehicles, industrial and commercial processes, and natural sources. PM₁₀ concentrations are highest during winter evenings, when temperatures are coldest and there is little wind.

Population

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Number of households

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This information is collated from 2013 Census information. The census is the official count of how many people and dwellings there are in New Zealand. Census information is collated every five years.

Sources of air pollution

Home heating Industrial Outdoor burning Traffic Indoor sources Natural sources

In this town, where do emissions come from?

The split between home heating, industrial, outdoor burning and traffic sources

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Sources of PM₁₀ emissions

Source	Annual percentage	Winter day percentage
Home heating	{{summary.emissions.annualhome}}%	{{summary.emissions.winterhome}}%
Industrial	{{summary.emissions.annualindustry}}%	{{summary.emissions.winterindustry}}%
Outdoor burning	{{summary.emissions.annualoutdoor}}%	{{summary.emissions.winteroutdoor}}%
Traffic	{{summary.emissions.annualmotor}}%	{{summary.emissions.wintermotor}}%

Relative breakdown

Annual

Winter day

The table shows the proportions of the main sources of PM₁₀ in this town from home heating, industrial activities, outdoor burning and traffic. (Indoor sources and natural sources of air pollutants are not included in this breakdown).

These values come from 2013 data sourced from MfE’s data service. Consistent methodology was used to calculate these estimates of PM₁₀ emissions, which allows comparison between towns throughout New Zealand. Some regional council published emissions information might differ if they were prepared in a different year or used another method. Contact your regional council for more information about PM₁₀ and other emissions.

Seasonal variation

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Concentration (µg/m³)

Wind speed (km/h)

Air temperature (℃)

What is this graph showing me?

The graph shows the monthly average PM₁₀ concentration at one representative site in this town for the year selected. In many towns in New Zealand, PM₁₀ peaks in the winter when air temperatures and wind speeds are lowest as more people heat their homes during colder weather, and still conditions mean that there is no wind to disperse the air pollutants.

Sites 13

Monitored sites in Timaru

Monitored sites in this town can be categorised according to location:

Residential: Air monitoring site is in a suburban area with a relatively high population density, but not close to a busy road or industry.
Traffic: Air monitoring site is very close to a busy road or intersection.
Industry: Air monitoring site is close to industry, including heavy commercial and processing factories.
Coastal: Air monitoring site is close to the coast where there are high levels of sea salt in the air.
NES: A site monitored for compliance with the National Environmental Standards for Air Quality (NES-AQ).

...retrieving sites.

No sites found.