Wetlands were created at Norton Park in 2016 to replace an open drain and to provide ongoing stormwater treatment. 12,000 aquatic and terrestrial plants were planted to help extract pollutants and improve water quality.
The drain was once part of the Little Kawau Stream, fed from Milson, but the water had been diverted to the Napier Rd drain and Manawatu River as housing was built in the 1950s, leaving the Norton Park section cut off.
