Watercare shells out another million to oyster farmers

Matakana Oysters owner Tom Walters said the second payment from Watercare would help him stay in business another 12 months. Watercare made a second payment of $1 million to local oyster farmers on December 23 to further compensate them for a wastewater overflow from its pump station at Lucy Moore Memorial Park on October 29 and 30 (MM, Nov 7). Watercare estimated the total overflow was 1200 cubic metres of wastewater, and that about half of this had entered the river, which shut down oyster harvesting. The second payment follows an initial $1 million made to farmers in November (MM, Nov 21), ...