Posted on by Shaun

Paint in Omaru creek

1:15 today, I was horrified to discover Omaru creek had gone white. I called the Pollution prevention hotline case #14/1714.

At the Taniwha st intersection
At the Taniwha St intersection.
The roof of the Tamaki Recreation Centre that was blasted.
The roof of the Tamaki Recreation Centre that was blasted.
Access water blasting cleaning down their vehicles which were parked next to the roof and got covered in toxic gunk which they washed into the stream with the rest of the paint. You can be assured tho... on their website http://www.access.kiwi.nz/about-us/ Sustainability is one of their values. "Creating a Sustainable Business Sustainability = Vision + Passion + Growth + Balance + Profitability" Awesome work guys!
Access water blasting cleaning down their vehicles which were parked next to the roof and got covered in toxic gunk which they washed into the stream with the rest of the paint. You can be assured tho… on their website http://www.access.kiwi.nz/about-us/ Sustainability is one of their values. “Creating a Sustainable Business. Sustainability = Vision + Passion + Growth + Balance + Profitability”
Awesome work guys!
Lichen on the wheels of their vehicles.
Lichen on the wheels of their vehicles.
Lichen and paint in the creek.
Lichen and paint in the creek.
Downstream where the wave of paint is about to hit.
Downstream where the wave of paint is about to hit.
Closeup of the freshly painted periphyton.
Closeup of the freshly painted periphyton.

If this is a regular thing (blasters are supposed to divert the downpipes) then I bet 90% + of the zinc contamination in the Tamaki Estuary comes from water blasting roofs, not regular wear from rainfall.

UPDATE: 4:30 PM

Pollution prevention made it out and then went to talk to the TRC (Tamaki Recreation Centre). Apparently they need to make sure their contractors are not cutting corners and doing horrible stuff like this. I believe the TRC is a council facility partnership.

Though it's diluted I would not want to be a fish trying to breathe in there.
Though it’s diluted I would not want to be a fish trying to breathe in there.
Great for duck tracking, not so great for the ducks.
Great for duck tracking, not so great for the ducks.
Pollution is often quite beautiful close up.
Pollution is often quite beautiful close up.
Little evidence at the mouth of the river... Whew.
Little evidence at the mouth of the river… Whew.
As the sun goes down you can still see it creeping out.
As the sun goes down you can still see it creeping out.

UPDATE: 2 Days later and I can’t see any obvious ecological damage. I imagine it would be more obvious in a less polluted stream. Like a lot of contamination events the effects will be largely long-term.

I would not want to eat these oysters that I know at least one local old Maori guy eats!
I would not want to eat these oysters that I know at least one local old Maori guy eats!

UPDATE: 30 July. A super nice guy from the TRC got in touch, they were very concerned about the event and have put in place processes to make sure it does not happen again.

Access also gave me a call, they told me this was a one off accident. The council confirmed this and accordingly let them off with a small fine of around $400). I think the maximum fine is only $1,000, if Mr Burns was running one of these companies he would definitely risk it (given the difficulty in detection). Access invited me down to give a 15min talk to the team about the Auckland environment, which I did. They also walked me through some of their process which are designed to keep the contaminants out of the stormwater system. Most interesting to me was listening to the guys talk about their day while I waited for the meeting to start, they have to use really toxic chemicals to clean buildings. I put hundreds of hours into helping the environment every year, but these guys can probably make a bigger difference in just a few hours by doing the right thing.