Oil spill clean-up from Kaiapoi factory fire a success, but locals urged to remain cautious

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from Northern Outlook

From reporter Amber Allott:
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The hard yards are almost over for clean-up crews after a North Canterbury factory fire caused thousands of litres of oil to gush into local waterways.

But it’s bad news for oil-soaked wildlife, with only four of 20 rescued ducks surviving, and locals wanting to go for a summer paddle are still urged to be cautious.

Australasia’s largest drill bit manufacturer, Sutton Tool NZ, suffered catastrophic damage to its Kaiapoi manufacturing facility after fire engulfed the building in the early hours of January 30, leading to the evacuation of about 40 homes because of the risk of toxic fumes.

Thousands of litres of quenching fluid – an oil used for rapidly cooling steel – also caused an environmental headache in the fire's aftermath, after it entered the nearby Cam River, which feeds first into the Kaiapoi River, then the Waimakariri.

After more than a week working at the site, regional council Environment Canterbury (ECan) is now wrapping up its clean-up operation.

On-scene commander Emma Parr said workers had removed nearly 3000 litres of oil from the waterways, using a mix of absorbent booms and sucker trucks.

A small amount of oil remains in the affected rivers, she said, and would be noticeable in the Cam River, and the Kaiapoi River upstream from the Williams St bridge, for the next few weeks.

“The oil clings to the vegetation and muddy banks and oil can remobilise with tidal changes, showing as a sheen on the surface of the water.

“Although the past few days of monitoring assessments have been positive, we continue to ask people to stay away from oiled areas, for the safety of you and your pets.”

Two riverside spots would need further remediation work after the spill, Parr said, and the team would take a stone-by-stone approach.

“Work to scrape and replace oiled stones and debris is needed at the Kaiapoi River rowing club boat ramp and the public boat ramp by the swing bridge. This work will be completed this week.”

But it was bad news for oil-soaked ducks which had been rescued and sent to recuperate, Parr said.

“Sadly, only four New Zealand scaup have survived out of the 20 that were captured and taken to the South Island Wildlife Hospital. The remaining four are doing well.”

The surviving ducks will need intensive care in the coming weeks to wash and waterproof their feathers.

A condition called wet feather can occur when a duck’s feathers become waterlogged, due to contamination with oil, detergents, lice or sooty black mould, causing them to lose their ability to repel water.

Parr said there had been no other sightings of oiled birds in the past few days, but anyone who spots one, or sees oil in local waterways, was asked to call ECan’s incident response team on 0800 765 588.

Locals can also use the Snap Send Solve App to provide specific details of the location.