What’s been washing up on Petone Beach?
A strange sawdust-like substance turning up on Petone Beach is actually a mix of seaweed, grass and other organic materials.
A thick layer of the material washed up on shore recently, leaving some locals initially concerned.
People out for a stroll in the dog exercise area along the western motorway end of Petone Beach would have come across the dark material covering the shore.
Lower Hutt resident Alison McKone said plenty of it could be seen at low and medium tide and there was a particularly thick layer.
She described it as ‘‘sawdust’’ and said it had built up several centimetres thick.
Hutt City Council reserve assets manager Craig Cottrill investigated the material last Tuesday and found it was the same organic material that was often washed down the Hutt River.
While it may look like sawdust, Hutt City Council spokeswoman Sue Lytollis said that wasn’t the case and it wasn’t any other material from nearby CentrePort.
Instead, it was a mix of organic matter such as seaweed and grass.
Recent storms, flooding and tidal activity around the area meant collections of debris from the Hutt River were mashed up with ocean plants and washed up in this particular area of Petone Beach.
‘‘We think that it concentrates in this area because of the concrete protection works at Honiana Te Puni reserve,’’ she said in a statement.
She said there was no risk for children or pets if they played in or near the material.
Organic matter like this washing up on Petone Beach has happened often in the past.