The Auckland City Council has cleaned up yet another suspected illegal oil dumping incident in the Papakura Stream on Croskery Road in Papakura.
For the second time in five months, concerned Papakura resident Ben Watson uploaded footage onto Facebook of an oil like substance floating down the stream.
Ben Watson's Facebook video / Source - Facebook
It is not known who dumped the pollutant into the stream. Auckland Council compliance officer Steve Pearce wrote to Te Ao:
“We take these issues very seriously and significant effort is spent in working to maintain the quality of urban streams, as well as waterways across Auckland. Our investigators visited Slippery Creek in Papakura yesterday afternoon but unfortunately were unable to find the source or who was responsible.
“This morning a team of our pollution control officers set to work on tracing the oil and trying to locate the origin of the contaminant and found that the oil has entered the stream via a nearby stormwater drain. We have now set up appropriate controls to limit the amount of oil entering the stream including scattering peat in the stream to absorb the oil and laying booms in the water to restrict the oil spreading.”
Pearce also wrote that the Council were in the process of putting together an education scheme for local businesses to address pollution in the area. Pearce also warned polluters, “We would like to remind all businesses that dumping any form of chemical in our drains is illegal and can carry a maximum penalty of $600,000 and up to $300,000 or 2 years in prison for individuals involved.”
Auckland Council's final words were for concerned citizens like Watson.
“People who see pollution or things that look wrong should contact us immediately with as much information as possible. People can report dumped material and pollution to the council on (09) 301 0101 which operates 24 hours 7 days a week.”