Silt pours into clean waterways
Tonnes of sediment from developments around coastal Auckland are landing up in waterways, and the system supposed to stop the pollution is ‘‘broken’’.
Auckland Council said it can’t be stopped. It can only be managed under the Resource Management Act.
But councillor Wayne Walker, deputy chairman of the council’s Regulatory Committee, said the council’s regulatory system was broken. Controls are process, not outcome driven, he said.
‘‘So you can still have enormous amounts of sediment and silt going into the ocean, and a marine reserve, and still have compliant subdivisions and developments.’’
Consents were also too permissive, Walker said.
‘‘And there is too much room for interpretation. What seems to happen, especially when you have got commercial forces at work, is they’ll really push the envelope.’’
Walker’s call came after a deputation to the Hibiscus and Bays Local Board from Okura residents Lezette and Geoff Reid, who were concerned about sediment running off Weiti Bay developer’s land on to Karapiro Beach and into the Okura Long Bay Marine Reserve.
The local board suggested taking the issue up with the regulatory committee, but Walker said a report from it would be a ‘‘white wash’’.
Walker tried to arrange a presentation to the committee by the The Long Bay – Okura Great Park Society over the same issue but had been blocked by committee chairwoman Linda Cooper on the grounds the matter was being looked into by officers, and that the site was compliant.
A report on the Weiti Bay site by resource consents compliance manager Steve Pearce said officers were of the opinion the site operated to a high standard and inspections reflected this.
Sediment devices are not designed to remove 100 per cent of sediment, he said.
Silt fences remove 50 per cent, and chemically treated sediment ponds might remove 90 per cent, but only in ideal conditions. During storm events they are less efficient, Pearce said.
Long Bay – Okura Great Park Society member Peter Townend believed a lack of understanding of the issue led to it being blocked from the regulatory committee.