Council may continue to discharge effluent into Waiwhetu Stream

Wednesday, 9 November 2016

Teri Puketapu inspects a section of the Waiwhetu Stream in 2009. As a child he caught eels from the stream, which is now used as an overflow for waste from Seaview Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Teri Puketapu grew up feasting on watercress from the Waiwhetu Stream - now used as an overflow for treated effluent from the Seaview Wastewater Treatment Plant.

'When I was 10, we relied on the stream. Coming from a family of 10 we needed the watercress and eels to put food on the table,' the Waiwhetu Marae elder said.

The Hutt City Council has two temporary consents to discharge treated waste from the plant into the stream. They expire in February 2018 and the council is looking at its options, which include continuing to use the stream as an overflow

The discharges make it unsafe to swim, fish or collect shellfish in the lower reaches of the stream and Hutt River, as well as parts of Wellington Harbour.

* Billions needed to clean our waterways

* Hutt River clogged with ooze**

In recent years the quality of the stream has improved significantly, as a result of work done by the city and regional councils, as well as by volunteers.

Hutt City is consulting on a range of options for a new consent.

Friends of Waiwhetu Stream, Regional Public Health and local Maori have so far been asked for their views.

A 'short list' of eight options, includes the status quo, discharging into the Hutt River or into the harbour.

Infrastructure manager Bruce Sherlock said the council did not have a preferred option. The discharges usually occurred in storm events when the quality of water in the stream and harbour was already low.

The only way to avoid overflow discharges would be to build a new outfall pipe discharging into Cook Strait.

That could cost as much as $200 million and in big storms, overflows could still occur if the pipe could not cope.

'It is just not practical or realistic.'

It did not matter if the discharge was in to the stream or anywhere in the Hutt River, as it ultimately ended up in Wellington Harbour.

The discharges usually happened in winter when recreational use of the harbour was at its lowest.

Puketapu grew up in an era when it was safe to swim and fish in the stream.

That was just after World War 11 and the pollution that has occurred since, saddened him.

He would like to see the council look at upgrading the existing outflow pipe to Pencarrow or put in extra holding tanks.

If Hutt City continued to encourage infill housing and the population of Upper Hutt increased, the situation would only get worse, he said.

New consents will have to be lodged by November 2018.