‘Now they are dead again’
Almost a year to the day, the same man has found dead eels in the same stream.
Marlborough man Mike Underwood said he was shocked to find 20 dead shortfin eels in the same Waikawa stream, near Picton, as last year.
Underwood has demanded answers from the council, but an explanation is unlikely as wet weather has since flushed out the waterway.
‘‘After that last one, I’ve only seen eels in the last two months. And now they are dead again,’’ Underwood said.
‘‘I was keeping my eyes open a little bit more this year, but I never expected to see dead eels again.’’
Last August, Underwood discovered dead eels in the stream at the bottom of Ranui St which prompted an investigation by the Marlborough District Council.
The investigation found the eels were likely killed by the presence of sewage and wastewater in the stream.
It was discovered a contractor connecting services to a house at the nearby Admiralty Place subdivision accidently connected a pipe for household wastewater to the stormwater system.
A council spokeswoman said the cause this time was yet to be confirmed, but it was possible a household chemical had found its way into the stormwater system.
‘‘Our drainage inspector checked the stream when the eel deaths were reported and found no evidence of sewage leaking into the waterway,’’ she said.
The other possibility was runoff and reserves staff had asked council contractors to review the products used at a nearby sports park, the spokeswoman said.
Underwood was unsure what caused the deaths, but noted that the grass at Picton’s Endeavour Park was fertilised shortly before both incidents.
‘‘I’m not pointing the finger, it would just be good to get an answer,’’ he said.
‘‘I always look for wildlife, but when you look in the water and see death it is not good ... It worries me.’’
Council delivered a letter to the residents of four adjacent streets whose stormwater drains emptied into the waterway with a reminder not to put chemicals down the drains.
Underwood, who walked his dog near the stream most mornings, said the dead eels were small and not yet mature. He hoped the deaths would not wipe out eels from the waterway.
Wet weather since the discovery of the dead eels made it impractical to test the stream water for contaminants, the spokeswoman said.
The spokeswoman said the council had introduced rules at new subdivisions to avoid crosscontamination in the aftermath of last year’s incident, including colour-coded pipes to prevent plumbing errors.
In February last year, hundreds of eels were found dead in a creek beside Pembers Rd, near Rarangi.
However, a council investigation failed to determine the cause.