Illegal earthworks soar in lockdown

Illegal earthworks with the potential to choke waterways almost tripled in Waikato during the coronavirus lockdown.

From the beginning of March until June, Waikato Regional Council reported 47 incidents of illegal earthworks, compared to 16 for the same period in 2019.

Council’s environmental compliance manager Patrick Lynch suspected the Covid-19 lockdown had a part to play in the increase.

‘‘I can’t say for sure in each case, but you can surmise. Maybe it’s people taking the opportunity because their movements were restricted, and perhaps some people thought they wouldn’t be detected because people weren’t out and about to see them.’’

The scale of earthworks ranged from a few metres to many hundreds of metres in and around waterways, in all corners of the region.

‘‘One of our team members, who’s an experienced guy, was saying one particular incident was the worst earthworks he had seen.’’

That case was under formal investigation, as were a number of others. Earthworks were often being done to increase pastoral land, sometimes with a financial motivation.

‘‘In the case of a dairy farm, more pastoral land available means more grass, which equals milk in the vat. Milk in the vat equals dollars. For sheep and beef more pasture equals land to fatten animals, the better condition of the animal, the more valuable the animal.’’

Lynch believed the problem might be worse than the council was aware of.

‘‘We really rely on the eyes and ears of the public to inform us about these earthworks.’’

It’s such a concern because sediment affects water quality, Lynch said.

Lynch said landowners and earthworks contractors needed to contact the council before doing any works in or around waterways and wetlands.

‘‘All of these instances are absolutely avoidable,’’ Lynch said.

Waikato River Authority Chair Bob Penter said he was disappointed to see the increase in illegal earthworks.

‘‘Slugs of sediment’’ could affect the quality of the Waikato or Waipa¯ rivers or the nearby waterways flowing from the streams.