Steve Chapman

I’ve been following this with interest, knowing a little about what goes on in that area as far as sewage goes.

The debacle over one man’s long drop is getting way over the top. And I think there’s more to it than meets the eye. One man’s doings hardly need the effort spent on it.

I believe, as others do, that it’s an effort on the regional council’s part to get all bores in that area registered so they can extract money off the water in people’s backyards, and the council is using this long drop discharge as a lever.

The discharge from this long drop wouldn’t go more than a metre in the ground and they must know that.

The discharge would have to get through the clay, which is the bed of the now diverted Maraetotara Stream, which used to run from its present placement to the fire station and discharges into the harbour beside Tauwhare Pa on the eastern side.

And it gets worse than that – 100 yards south of the thunder box is the channel that the oyster farm resides in, just past that is a creek that drains into a small arm of the harbour.

It’s also the discharge point for the Ōhope oxidation ponds. In heavy rain events, the pumps that pump this black water (water than contains the lumpy bits) around to Maraetotara Reserve can’t handle the load, so the contaminated black water overflows down this creek around the oyster beds, and down the channel past the wharf. So, if the bores east of the fire station are contaminated, this is more than likely the source.

There are only two entities that can legally dump raw sewerage without special permits; one is the council, and the other is a marae.

The regional council has hounded this man of ethnic descent; it has all but tarred and feathered him. He’s been publicly shamed and blamed for doing something he’s legally allowed to do. The council owes him a public apology for the position he now feels he’s been placed in.

The very least the regional council should do for this guy is put in a free sewerage line, they surely owe him that much.

■ Bay of Plenty Regional Council responds:

Due to the public interest in this situation, Bay of Plenty Regional Council wishes to clarify several points raised in this letter.

Our response to the long drop on Harbour Road is part of our legislative responsibility under the Resource Management Act to ensure human activities do not negatively impact the natural environment or pose a risk to public health.

We do not invoice residents for water, nor are we taking action to require unregistered bores to become registered.

The soil in this area is not clay. Our groundwater scientist has assessed the aquifer as shallow and composed of sand, gravel, and pumice, which allows water (and any contaminants) to move quickly.

On this basis, the regional council adopted a precautionary approach and advised bore owners to stop using bore water to minimise potential health risks.

Regional rules permit long drops only in remote locations, well away from other dwellings.

This long drop is located within the Ōhope community and is therefore in breach of these rules.

Since its discovery, we have worked closely with the landowner and occupier to ensure compliance, and have undertaken regular sampling to confirm there is no further contamination risk. We expect to provide an update soon.

If you have any concerns about environmental pollution, including groundwater contamination, please call the Regional Council 24/7 Pollution Hotline on 0800 884 880.