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Auckland Council’s sediment controls for building sites are non-compliant and ineffective, according to activists.
And as a result, sediment is smothering shellfish beds. A report by Keep Okura Green Incorporated surveyed Long Bay building sites and found 97 per cent were non-compliant and ineffective as a result.
Sediment controls are designed to keep sediment from running into waterways. The survey focused on Long Bay, but also found non-compliant sites in Silverdale and the group believes the issue is the same city-wide.
Keep Okura Green chair Peter Townend stood in the Okura River while presenting to the Hauraki Gulf Forum on February 28.
“We’re asking for are some simple steps,” Townend said.
He wants to see builders cover their work sites, divert water and put up good sediment fences.
“You know you don’t have a good fishbowl if the water is green and murky,” he said.
Forum co-chair Pippa Coom said the report was confronting and she could understand Townsend’s frustration.
“Council recruited seven new compliance staff recently, which is just one example of your advocacy working,” she said. But Townend was not satisfied with the changes.
“The reality is even with those seven people, only 20 per cent of the 24-hour working week can be monitored,” he said.
Cr Wayne Walker was concerned by the lack of compliance from construction sites.
“There’s an unwillingness (by Council) to prosecute. The fines aren’t particularly significant,” Walker said. “We have a major problem with compliance and enforcement with high staff turnover. That’s not what you want to hear and it’s not good enough.”
At the end of his presentation, Townend dumped a wheelbarrow of dirt into the river to demonstrate what a wheelbarrow load looked like. He said the group had recorded 50 wheelbarrow loads dumped from one building site alone.
