Wastewater fill lands local companies in hot water

Two Warkworth companies and one individual are being prosecuted under the Resource Management Act, for allegedly dumping fill from a Watercare construction site in Snells Beach onto a property in Kaipara Flats.

The defendants, who have not been named, are due to make their first appearance in the Auckland District Court later this month.

The issue was first raised with Watercare in June last year by Rodney Councillor Greg Sayers, who noticed heavy sedimentation in a stream that ran under the road bridge in Old Woodcocks Road, Kaipara Flats, and eventually into the Mahurangi River. Investigating further, Sayers said he observed multiple truck and trailer movements to a nearby property in Davie Martin Road at Kaipara Flats.

“I was very concerned that the fill appeared to have completely covered an overland flow point, and a gully line or tributary,” Sayers said.

He believed that this must have been the source of the sedimentation he had seen in the nearby stream.

“There was considerable dirt on the road, which indicated many weeks of activity.”

By following the trucks, Sayers established that the fill was coming from Watercare’s Snells Beach wastewater plant, which is currently under construction. He sent an email to the regulatory engineer for Northern Rodney, advising him of the situation.

Auckland Council said it would not comment or provide additional detail prior to the charges being presented in court. Meanwhile, Cr Sayers reminded landowners that allowing soil to be dumped on their land without the proper consents could make them liable to prosecution by council.

“Prosecution can include fines, as well as the additional costs of removing contaminated soil and having it disposed of correctly,” he said.