Latest news with #MahurangiHarbour
RNZ News
6 days ago
- RNZ News
Mahurangi oyster saga: Watercare reveals vandalised pipe
An oyster farm in Mahurangi Harbour. Photo: Nick Monro The latest episode in the ongoing battle between oyster farmers in northern Auckland and Watercare has revealed an engineered overflow point may have been vandalised. Ten marine farms have been in a seven-year dispute with Watercare to stop sewage overflowing into the Mahurangi Harbour and contaminating their oyster crops. After each overflow, oyster harvesting was put on hold for 28 days to allow for testing for pathogens like Norovirus. The marine farmers have been unable to sell any locally grown oysters from the Mahurangi Harbour since Christmas, leaving them on the brink all year. This week about 40 people who work across the oyster industry in the Mahurangi Harbour, worth nearly $10 million, were let go. In a statement titled "Vandalism" in response to questions around potential tampering of pipes in Warkworth, Watercare provided RNZ with a photo of the pipe in question which showed a blockage which they claimed was from expanding foam. "In early July we found that the engineered overflow point into the Mahurangi River near Elizabeth St had been blocked with expanding foam which caused overflows from nearby manholes. "This was removed by our crews. We have also found bolts missing from a manhole on Elizabeth St and last week replaced the manhole lid with one that is lockable and has a rubber seal," it said. RNZ put this information to some of the marine farmers in Mahurangi Harbour, who said they did not know who was responsible for the expanding foam or the missing bolts but did not believe it was a fellow oyster farmer. "Personally, I don't know of anyone that's blocked the pipe, and that's the honest truth," said Tom Walters of Matakana Oysters. He said there had been rumours circulating in Warkworth someone had been tampering with manholes and pipes. "I can imagine they think it was probably us that did it, but it doesn't matter, because it still goes into the river, it still flows downhill, and we're still gonna get closed because of it." Jim Aitken of Mahurangi Oysters said the culprit could be identified considering the engineered overflow point was in front of a local police station with CCTV. "I'd be very shocked and surprised if someone went out there to intentionally make the problem worse. If someone's just doing it because they're sick and tired of an organisation not doing their job, that's another thing entirely. "All I can really say is it sounds like instead of fighting, rushing to address and resolve this issue in a timely manner, Watercare is looking at every possible excuse to not fix it. "They're looking for every possible excuse to not accept fault, to not take on the responsibility they're supposed to be upholding to the ratepayers and they're now just looking for any sort of excuse to shift claim because if that is sabotage, it's an overflow point," said Aitken. Tom Walters of Matakana Oysters said despite the blockage being cleared and a temporary solution being applied to the overflow site on Elizabeth Street, it had not stopped the wastewater issue. "When it overflowed early in the morning last Friday, it was only about nine mils. "I turned up there at eight o'clock in the morning, a Downer guy is spraying the manholes because there was sewage that had come up from them. Not very much, but enough and they were spraying disinfectant around it. "So it still occurs, regardless of it being blocked or no," Walters said. Watercare has maintained it is being compliant in Warkworth. "Watercare is permitted to discharge wastewater at the Elizabeth Street overflow site under the Regional Network Discharge Consent (NDC), which allows for an average of 20.5 wet weather discharges per year (based on a five-year rolling average). "Watercare remains compliant with the consent. This reflects that we are on a journey to reduce overflows to an average of two or less per year at Elizabeth Street by investing in new infrastructure," a spokesperson said. A long-term solution to the piping problem on Elizabeth Street in Warkworth is not expected until 2026. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
13-08-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Mystery payment to oyster farmers came from Watercare
Photo: Supplied The origin of an unexpected payment to North Island oyster farmers has been solved. A payment of about $10,000 was deposited into the accounts of affected Mahurangi Harbour oyster farmers - the catch is they do not know what the money is for. The 10 marine farms have been in a seven-year battle with Watercare to stop sewage overflowing into the harbour north of Auckland, which contaminates their oyster crops with norovirus. The farmers have been unable to sell any locally grown oysters from the Mahurangi Harbour since Christmas, leaving them on the brink all year. This week about 40 people that work across the oyster industry in the Mahurangi Harbour, worth nearly $10 million, were let go. Tom Walters from Matakana Oysters said while the money was facilitated by Aquaculture New Zealand, it was unclear if the payment originated from them, Watercare or another party . On Wednesday, Aquaculture confirmed the urgent financial assistance funding was provided by Watercare to Aquaculture NZ to distribute to the Mahurangi oyster farmers. A spokesperson further added: "I would suggest that further comment on the rationale for the financial assistance is best directed to Watercare'." Earlier this week RNZ approached both Aquaculture and Watercare about the origins of the financial payment, but neither commented. While the source of the payment had been cleared up, farmers were still not sure what this meant for any liability or future legal action the farmers could take up with Watercare. Walters said he would rather not have accepted it because it was an admission of wrongdoing and the amount did not cover the financial damage the farmers were facing. "It needs to be $200,000 each for something, just to get through the shit that we've gone through this year - and at times eight or nine, or whatever it is, or 10 oyster farmers, rather than $200,000 between us all. It's an insult." Watercare had consistently said it would not be in a position to compensate the farmers financially, but did put forward $50,000 to support wellbeing initiatives. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
12-08-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Mahurangi oyster farmers apprehensive about accepting mysterious $10,000 payments
Oyster farmers in the Warkworth area, north of Auckland, fear their businesses won't survive the year. Photo: Supplied A payment of about $10,000 has been deposited into the accounts of Mahurangi Harbour oyster farmers, the only catch is they don't know what the money is for. The 10 marine farms have been in a seven-year battle with Watercare to stop sewage overflowing into the harbour north of Auckland, which contaminates their oyster crops with Norovirus. The farmers have been unable to sell any locally-grown oysters from Mahurangi Harbour since Christmas, leaving them on the brink all year . RNZ understands this week about 40 people that work across the oyster industry in the Mahurangi Harbour, which was worth nearly $10 million, have been let go. Tom Walters from Matakana Oysters has been vocal about Watercare taking accountability for the pollution of the Mahurangi River , which flows into the harbour where the oyster crops are. He said while the money was facilitated by Aquaculture New Zealand, it was unclear what the payment's purpose was and if it originated from it or Watercare. Aquaculture New Zealand and Watercare have both been approached for comment. Walters said he worried about what it could mean around liability and any future legal action the farmers could take up with Watercare. "I fear, and a few of the others fear, they're just going to be played like puppets by Watercare. "They'll say, oh, we've given you a little bit, maybe here's $50,000 more, and we've fixed the problem, see you later. They haven't fixed the problem yet. "I'd rather not have accepted it, because to me it was like, obviously, if you're actually doing that, then you're accepting that you've done something wrong here, number one. "It needs to be $200,000 each for something, just to get through the shit that we've gone through this year and at times eight or nine, or whatever it is, or 10 oyster farmers, rather than $200,000 between us all, it's an insult," said Walters. Watercare have consistently said it would not be in a position to directly compensate the farmers financially but did previously put forward $50,000 to support wellbeing initiatives. Jim Aitken from Mahurangi Oysters said the $10,000 would not cover "basically a couple of weeks worth of bills". He also said he was not sure whether they should have accepted the money. "But again, we're so desperate to keep operating that, of course, anything will help. "What I'm trying to say is I don't know if there's more coming or if that's a shut up and leave us alone amount," said Aitken. None of the farmers RNZ spoke to said they knew where the money was from or what it was for. More than three million litres of liquid discharge has spilled into the Mahurangi Harbour this year. It was more than an entire olympic swimming pool worth of fluid that would include sewage and stormwater. After each overflow, oyster harvesting was put on hold for 28 days to allow for testing for pathogens like Norovirus. Much of the wastewater was thought to come from a pipe on Elizabeth Street in Warkworth, which Watercare last month upgraded with a temporary fix. Watercare programme director Rob Burchell told RNZ in a statement he believed it would reduce wastewater overflows at Elizabeth Street. "We completed the installation of a temporary over-pumping solution on Elizabeth Street that will reduce the frequency and volume of overflows to the Mahurangi River. "This solution includes a manhole chamber that is three metres deep and 1.6 metres in diameter, along with two pumps and a pipeline designed to transfer wastewater across the Elizabeth Street heritage bridge, bypassing the existing wastewater network. "We may be able to bring this pumping solution into service ahead of the commissioning of the Lucy Moore Pump Station, transfer pipeline and new Snells Beach Wastewater Treatment Plant in August. Testing will soon take place to confirm if this is possible. Work is also underway as part of the long-term solution - the Warkworth Growth Servicing Pipeline." Burchell said Watercare was undertaking potholing investigations in and around Great North Road, Elizabeth Street, Queen Street and Kapanui Street to locate existing underground services, which he hoped to be completed by late August. However, a long-term solution to the piping problem on Elizabeth Street in Warkworth was not expected until 2026. Watercare maintain it was being compliant in Warkworth. "Watercare is permitted to discharge wastewater at the Elizabeth Street overflow site under the Regional Network Discharge Consent (NDC), which allows for an average of 20.5 wet weather discharges per year (based on a five-year rolling average). "Watercare remains compliant with the consent. This reflects that we are on a journey to reduce overflows to an average of 2 or less per year at Elizabeth Street by investing in new infrastructure," a spokesperson said. Watercare also said the reason for the higher volume of wastewater discharged this year, compared to 2024, reflected the wet weather Auckland had been experiencing, saying "it's important to note that the vast majority of these overflows consist primarily of rainwater". Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
01-07-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
'We're cleaning up their mess' - oyster farmers want Watercare to deal with sewage overflow
A group of oyster farmers in the north of Auckland have reached their breaking point over sewage overflow and want the government to intervene. The 10 marine farms have been in a seven-year battle with Watercare to stop sewage overflowing into the Mahurangi Harbour, which contaminates their oyster crops. At least one farmer is having to close their business, while many fear they will not survive the year, despite a pipe upgrade in September that will provide a short-term fix. At this stage, a long-term solution to the piping problem on Elizabeth Street in Warkworth is not expected until 2028. Oysters help remove pollution in water, but this means there is a high risk of food poisoning if they were eaten. Photo: Nick Monro Minister for Oceans and Fisheries Shane Jones said Watercare had "failed in their statutory duty of care to the Mahurangi oyster farmers". "They are solely responsible for the collapse of the infrastructure that has ruined the businesses of the Mahurangi oyster farmers. "I am astounded that this colossus will not step up to the plate and offer financial compensation to these marine farmers, who through no fault of their own are now penalised because of the failure of water care," he said. An oyster farm in the Mahurangi Harbour. Photo: Nick Monro Jones said he was looking into what levers the government had over Watercare. "There are many areas where the Auckland City Council wants the assistance of central government. The Auckland Council is in control of Watercare, and it seems extraordinary that we're expected as central government to deliver positive outcomes for the Auckland City Council, yet one of their organisations is driving local marine farmers to penury and offering no assistance, no relief whatsoever. "Watercare is a well-heeled organisation, they're not short of capital. What they're short of, though, is corporate responsibility and obviously, don't place any importance on the maintenance of a social licence to continue to operate. "Their organisation should be renamed Zero Care. But more importantly, this is a comment on their culture," said the minister. "They know and they've known for a long time about how weak the piping system is around Mahurangi. They've chosen to find every excuse in the world to delay fixing it up and now the oyster farmers are the casualties of this corporate delinquency." An oyster farm in the Mahurangi Harbour. Photo: Nick Monro According to the farmers, the pipe network was originally scheduled to be upgraded in 2021, but never was. RNZ has asked Watercare for a response to the minister's comments and the marine farmers' concerns. The issue of wastewater overflowing into the Mahurangi Harbour has been ongoing since 2018, when farmers first raised it with Watercare. Because oysters are filter feeders, they help remove the pollution in the harbour but by doing so, there was a high risk of food poisoning if they were eaten. Mahurangi Oysters farmer Jim Aitken. Photo: Nick Monro Mahurangi Oysters farmer Jim Aitken said his own health working the oyster farms was also at risk. "Yeah, we're cleaning up their mess and we're not receiving any support for literally working in human waste," he said. "This farm is the exception, but most of these farms, you are in knee-deep in mud, waist-deep in water, getting cut on sharp oysters, nails, all kinds of things, and now we have to worry about potentially getting quite serious infections from sewage. "When we get 9mm of rain - which is happening almost weekly - that should not be triggering a spill so easily, and consistently too. Like it's not a random thing, and we're told that the pipes that are connecting storm to wastewater have been disconnected, which should never have been connected in the first place. "But the increase has tripled, so far it's on track to quadruple the number of spills because we've already doubled what we did last year, what they did last year for spills, it's pretty astounding that there isn't even an increase in rainfall compared to last year." "We're wondering what's going on here, why has it suddenly increased so dramatically, is another question too, what we're trying to figure out," said Aitken. Lynette Dunn of Orata Marine Oysters Photo: Nick Monro Lynette Dunn of Orata Marine Oysters said she had not been able to sell any locally grown produce since Christmas and had to approach Work and Income for financial support. She said the members of Parliament needed to take action to save the estimated $8 million oyster industry in the Mahurangi Harbour. "They need to start hammering the Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, telling him we need some action. The government's the only person, or the only identity that's going to take Watercare on." Dunn's family business has run for 30 years and has overcome many adversities, but she said this has been the toughest period. "Every day I've been crying, you know? I think to myself, like, I'm not going to cry today, you know? Because it's not our fault, it's their fault and they're not doing anything about it. "You wail awake at night time, thinking, 'okay, how much sewage is going to go into the harbour', you know? "We used to have, like, 5 or 10 mils of rain, and we'd be closed for fresh water, or 50 to 60 mils of rain, we'll get closed for 10 days for fresh water, but now we're getting closed 28 days constantly on 5 mils of rain. "In some instances, there's no rain and there's sewage spills, but this last one was 670 cubic metres of sewage pumped into the harbour on Thursday. You know, like, the water in the streets of Warkworth, running down their pipes are overflowing and sewage coming out," she said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
15-06-2025
- Climate
- RNZ News
Wastewater discharge halts Mahurangi oyster harvesting
Oyster farmers depend on the Mahurangi Harbour water quality for their livelihood. Photo: Supplied / Auckland Council Oyster farmers north of Auckland are still not harvesting, due to pollution, after this week's rain caused another sewage discharge, affecting the harbour their livelihoods depend on. Watercare confirmed 135,000 litres of wastewater overflowed into Mahurangi River, which flows to the harbour. After each overflow, oyster harvesting is put on hold for 28 days to allow for testing. A Watercare spokesperson said most of this week's overflow would have been rainwater, because it occurred when households were discharging very little wastewater. "With the wet weather this week, there have been overflows at the Elizabeth St engineered overflow point. It overflowed for five minutes in the early hours of 9 June. "There were also short overflows on Tuesday afternoon/evening and the early hours of Wednesday." They said the total volume of these overflows was about 135 cubic metres. "However, it's important to note that the vast majority of these overflows is rainwater. For example, the overflow in the early hours of Wednesday was from 12.20am to 1.55am, when households are typically discharging very little wastewater." Farmers in the Warkworth area were concerned Watercare still did not have an urgent solution to stop swimming-pool amounts of sewage being dumped into the water their livelihoods depend on. About 50 people from the oyster farming community met with the agency earlier this month , asking for an urgent solution to the discharges and financial relief. Watercare said it could not provide financial support, but would look at other ways to help the growers. North Shore MP Simon Watts met with the agency this week and said officials would closely monitor its progress for fixing the overflows. He said Watercare's chair and chief executive shared their plans to address network capacity constraints in Auckland. "These constraints are contributing to the issues raised by Mahurangi Harbour oyster farmers and on new housing development, both of which are concerns for me," he said. "This was a constructive meeting, where Watercare showed me how they intend to bring forward their plans to address these issues." Watts said this included using the new National Engineering Design Standards currently under development and National Wastewater Standards. "It's my expectation that Watercare will provide further information on these matters in due course and it is something my officials will be closely monitoring." A Watercare spokesperson said work was underway to reduce overflows to the Mahurangi River and improve the situation for local oyster farmers - including an upgrade to a bottleneck that would be operational in mid-August. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
