Meet our staff - Olivia Hughes

Date: 26 Jan 2022

Category: News | Consents | Water Quality | Compliance

Olivia Hughes has been with us since 2021 as both an Incident Response and Resource Management Officer.

It’s her first role since graduating from Otago University with a Bachelor of Science majoring in geography, with a minor in environmental management and ecology.

She finds the job both challenging and rewarding – and packed with variety.

Olivia Hughes, Incident Response and Resource Management Officer

What does a day in your life look like?

I’ll use a recent day as an example – when a colleague and I were called out to Little Akaloa on Banks Peninsula.

We had to investigate an overflowing septic tank and test nearby streamwater for E. coli. It turned out that the tank was unconsented, so we’re working with Christchurch City Council on that aspect.

Later that day, we headed to Kaiapoi, following reports of a brown substance going into the mouth of the Kaiapoi River and through into the Waimakariri River.

We noticed that one of the tributary streams was also quite brown – indicating that this may have been the source.

There are a lot of farms around that area, so, unfortunately, we couldn’t find an exact discharge point at the time.

However, water samples have since shown elevated iron levels, which likely explains the brown/orange substance.

It was quite a big job to try to establish why the river was running that brown. Some fishermen said they’d never seen it like that.

What’s the best part of the job?

The variety is so good – you never know what’s going to pop up. It could be anything from investigating an odour complaint to responding to concerns about an outdoor burn, to tracking down the source of stormwater contamination. Report an environmental incident.

I also enjoy the communication aspect – chatting with a range of people on a daily basis.

It’s really rewarding to be out there, boots on the ground, knowing I’m making a difference.

What is the most challenging aspect of your role?

The ‘not knowing’ part of heading out to a job – such as who the property owner might be and whether they’ll be willing to cooperate.

Because of the nature of the role, people aren’t always so pleased to see us show up on their doorstep. Sometimes it might be someone who’s a bit set in their ways and doesn’t appreciate being told that they need to change some aspect of their operations.

It can be quite confronting to have these kinds of conversations.

What attributes do you need to do the job well?

Confidence is definitely key, especially for enforcing rules, such as those in the Resource Management Act. People may push back and ask to be let off, but we’ve got to stand firm when it comes to compliance.

Quite often our staff get stuck in the middle of a situation – such as a neighbourly dispute. We’re not going to make everyone happy in those scenarios. At the end of the day, we’ve got to enforce what’s right and be consistent in our approach.

What makes incident response/resource management a great career option?

It’s really helped build my confidence – getting out there and having those conversations with property owners and business owners.

We’re educating people, so it’s rewarding to see the end result of someone understanding why they can’t do something and changing their behaviour.

For instance, many landowners don’t realise they’re not allowed to have an outdoor fire if their property is smaller than two hectares. But once they know why the rule exists, they’re generally happy to comply. Find out more about outdoor burning.

It’s also deeply satisfying to know that our work is helping improve Canterbury’s environmental outcomes. I’d definitely recommend it!