Xtra News Community 2
March 29, 2024, 10:29:16 pm
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
News: Welcome to Xtra News Community 2 — please also join our XNC2-BACKUP-GROUP.
 
  Home Help Arcade Gallery Links BITEBACK! XNC2-BACKUP-GROUP Staff List Login Register  

“WHITEBAIT”

Pages: 1 [2] 3 4 5 6 7 ... 12   Go Down
  Print  
Author Topic: “WHITEBAIT”  (Read 48952 times)
0 Members and 4 Guests are viewing this topic.
Kiwithrottlejockey
Guest
« Reply #25 on: April 03, 2009, 03:14:46 pm »


Sewage illegally dumped into river

By KATIE CHAPMAN - Manawatu Standard | Wednesday, 10 October 2007

FILTHY, DISGUSTING: Shannon's effluent pools have also created problems in the past. SAM BAKER/Manawatu Standard.

FILTHY, DISGUSTING: Shannon's effluent pools have also created
problems in the past. — SAM BAKER/Manawatu Standard


Manawatu's whitebait season might be dead in the water after sewage laden with used sanitary items and condoms spewed from Shannon's effluent ponds into the Manawatu River last week.

Horizons Regional Council planning manager Greg Carlyon said it appeared Horowhenua District Council had pumped between 10,000 and 100,000 litres of raw sewage into the Mangaore Stream, which feeds into the Manawatu River.

Investigations would now be carried out to see how badly the water had been polluted, he said.

"We've found Horowhenua discharged copious amounts of sewage into the Mangaore. In the next 24 hours or so we're going to have to take some sort of action about whitebaiting in the Manawatu River."

The whitebaiting season opened on August 15, and isn't due to close until November 30.

Outraged Shannon farmer Wayne Rider, whose farm borders the effluent ponds, saw the sewage going into Stansell's drain.

He described the sight: "Absolutely bloody filthy, disgusting."

Mr Rider said the pumping lasted about 48 hours. He was horrified, particularly given it was the middle of the school holidays and river whitebaiters were out in force.

"No notification (was given). People have been whitebaiting throughout all of this exercise, catching whitebait, eating whitebait, in the river.

"Makes me flipping wild."

Shannon resident Brent Christiansen was also furious about the mess, demanding to know why the public hadn't been warned the pumping would take place.

"Where was the public notification for these whitebaiters?"

He wanted to know what was going to be done about it, and where the consents were.

Mr Carlyon said the discharge had occurred without consent.

In July, Horizons Regional Council cancelled Shannon's sewage treatment plant's discharge consent due to a lack of information given in the application.

Horowhenua District Council has been operating on temporary consents since 2001, when the original consent expired.

The district council has since been working with Horizons to file an acceptable application.

Mr Carlyon was horrified this incident had occurred, and said prosecution was an option.

"My reaction to these things is generally unprintable; I find it pretty frustrating, I have to say. All the agencies involved are working so hard to deal with this waste issue."

He was astonished Horowhenua would do this during negotiations.

"In the meantime you'd expect you'd be impeccable in your operation of that plant."

Mr Carlyon said more information about the extent of the pollution would become evident as the investigations proceeded.

Horowhenua District Council could not be reached for comment before deadline.


http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatustandard/4232704a6003.html



Charges likely for sewage dumping

By KATIE CHAPMAN - Manawatu Standard | Thursday, 11 October 2007

BOTTOMS UP: Horizons officer Carol Nicholson examines sludge from the bottom of Stansell's Drain. JONATHAN CAMERON/Manawatu Standard.

BOTTOMS UP: Horizons officer Carol Nicholson examines sludge from the
bottom of Stansell's Drain. — JONATHAN CAMERON/Manawatu Standard


Whitebaiters can breathe easy — the weather saved the day after the Shannon effluent ponds were emptied into the Mangaore Stream last week.

Horizons Regional Council group manager, planning and regulatory, Greg Carlyon said a fresh last week flushed away most of the sewage — which was loaded with used sanitary items and condoms.

"(The effect is) pretty well negligible. It absolutely is good luck that's for sure."

Horizons is now frantically investigating the incident, which saw up to 100,000 litres of sewage from the effluent ponds pumped into Stansell's Drain, which feeds into the Mangaore and on to the Manawatu River.

Mr Carlyon said part of the issue, was that the district council was working under a consent from 1970. That consent had run out in 2001, but it had been temporarily renewed while a new consent was sought.

Horowhenua had continued operating under the temporary consent until July this year, when Horizons said it was no longer acceptable. They are now negotiating a new consent.

Mr Carlyon said there were no more chances, and Horowhenua had been issued with an abatement notice, which instructed them told to "cease and desist" immediately.

Inquiries were being made, including testing the water, and interviewing those involved and locals who witnessed the pumping.

The degree of the consent breach and the damage was not yet known, Mr Carlyon said. "It's going to take a very solid week to get that kind of information."


YUCK: New “floatables”, like those pumped out last week, are again gathering on the surface of Shannon's effluent ponds. JONATHAN CAMERON/Manawatu Standard.

YUCK: New “floatables”, like those pumped out last week, are
again gathering on the surface of Shannon's effluent ponds.
— JONATHAN CAMERON/Manawatu Standard


Horowhenua is describing the pumping out of "floatables" into the stream as a "regrettable incident" caused by a failure of the screening process.

Neighbouring farmer Wayne Rider witnessed the effluent being pumped into the drain. He said the screening was laughable as it was nothing more than orange building mesh across the drain.

"That style mesh has holes large enough to allow a tennis ball through.

"They just drove a couple of those in and pumped away for a couple of hours."

Mr Carlyon said this appeared to be correct, but they needed to find out if there was extra screening before the mesh.

Mr Rider is among residents calling for prosecutions. He said the sight was disgusting, particularly given it wasn't in the ponds.

"You see everything coming down here. It's all gone, it's all gone down the river.

"There was no need to do what they did here."

Mr Carlyon said a prosecution was highly likely.

Upstream, Palmerston North whitebaiter Alan Lochead was shocked to learn what was going into the river his net was cast in.

"If a similar incident happened again, he would find another spot to scoop the shoals.

"If I saw that happening, then I'd pack my net up. You've got to really question it."


http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatustandard/4234044a6003.html
Report Spam   Logged

Pages: 1 [2] 3 4 5 6 7 ... 12   Go Up
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by EzPortal
Open XNC2 Smileys
Bookmark this site! | Upgrade This Forum
SMF For Free - Create your own Forum


Powered by SMF | SMF © 2016, Simple Machines
Privacy Policy
Page created in 0.047 seconds with 14 queries.