Diesel leak baffles council staff

‘‘It has the same appearance as earlier spills, a rainbow shiny metallic colour, and it’s really stinky.’’

A second suspected diesel spill into the Waikato River in as many weeks has infuriated Hamilton residents and sent council staff scrambling to find the culprit.

Arcus St residents raised the alert early yesterday after noticing an acrid slick seeping into the river from a stormwater drain about 7.50am.

Waikato regional council staff have deployed absorbent booms at the drain’s mouth and a further three lines of booms in the river to soak up the oily slick, the fifth in seven months.

Hamilton City Council water operations manager Maire Porter said six staff were working with regional council officers to locate the spill source.

‘‘This is top priority for us and we are doing all we can to find out where this diesel has come from,’’ Mrs Porter told the Times.

The stormwater system, which dischar- ges into the river near St Andrews, collects water from Te Rapa and Avalon Dr.

‘‘We are actively inspecting drains and catchpits in the catchment for diesel and for indications of the source of this morning’s discharge. One of council’s main contractors is on-site ready to use CCTV inside the stormwater system if needed.’’

Mrs Porter said staff were focusing on industrial sites within the catchment, but it was too early to say if the spills over the past fortnight were linked.

About 100 litres of diesel-like hydrocarbon leaked into the river last week.

Automotive engineer Phil Ward, who coowns To-wardz Safety in Foreman Rd, said most businesses shared residents’ frustrations with the spills.

‘‘It’s annoying because everyone is being tarred with the same brush.

‘‘I would think it would be very hard to have a diesel spill from a storage tank because most tanks have a bund wall so leaks can’t happen. Because these spills have only been happening in the past year the council should focus on businesses which have just moved into the area.’’

Arcus St resident Wendy Southall said the diesel flow seemed as heavy as last week and described the smell as pungent.

‘‘We started off frustrated and disappointed with all of this but now we’re just angry. What are people doing to stop this?

‘‘It has the same appearance as earlier spills, a rainbow shiny metallic colour, and it’s really stinky.’’

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Balloon flight’s last moments, p4 Waikato Regional Council senior emergency management officer Dave Lovatt ties absorbent booms to the mouth of a stormwater drain in an effort to stop diesel leaking into the Waikato River.