North Shore Times (New Zealand)
Brown stream prompts protest
Armed with hay bale and picket signs, angry residents protested over a creek filled with brown discharge from a development site at the weekend.
The protest took place across the road from a nine-lot subdivision site at 57 Glendhu Rd, Bayview, April 22.
Resident Shona Cathro has questioned the adequacy of the developer’s silt control measures, since work began in December.
Cathro says her concerns were heightened when developers built a culvert under Glendhu Rd, six to eight weeks ago, allowing the silt and sediment run-off to pollute the reserve where her children play.
Auckland Council has not directly answered Cathro’s questions about whether the developer’s methods are correct, she says.
‘‘If they [the council] gave me an answer, it would shut me up. But, if you can’t answer me directly, I’m immediately going to become suspicious that something is not right. Rightly or wrongly,’’ she says.
Cathro was joined by Kaipatiki Local Board members and other concerned residents, both from Bayview and nearby communities, at the protest.
Local board member AnneElise Smithson says she hopes the protest will highlight a lack of political leadership when it comes to water quality.
‘‘The culvert sediment has essentially created a new stream. How is this compliant?’’ she says.
Fellow protesters Dennis Worley and Steve Cook says, while they didn’t live in Glendhu Rd, they are ‘‘emotionally attached’’ to the health of Kaipatiki’s reserves.
Auckland Council’s compliance manager Steve Pearce says he is aware of a number of issues on site including sediment discharge, and has worked with the developer to resolve them. Site monitoring has been increased and at the last inspection, the sediment control appeared to be working, Pearce says.
Albany-based developer Wonderland Construction Group’s site manager Gary Zhang says, while they maintain the silt control measures every week, the unprecedented rainfall has flooded these measures and resulted in the ‘‘yellow water’’.
‘‘Everything is now under control,’’ Zhang says. ‘‘I am trying my best, and the whole project will be finished before the winter months.’’