Oil spill clean-up from Kaiapoi factory fire a success, but locals urged to remain cautious
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.
Council loan agreed to help Oxford fitness centre grow
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter
The Waimakariri District Council has agreed to loan $200,000 so the Oxford Health and Fitness Centre Trust can start a 153m2 expansion of its facility at Pearson Park.
The existing 322 square metre building is owned by the trust, which leases the community fitness centre to the North Canterbury Sport and Recreation Trust to run.
The expansion will support the fitness centre’s growing membership, which now exceeds 400, trust chairperson Tim Fulton said.
The trust has already raised $55,000 and has a contractor lined up for the build, which is expected to cost $283,000.
It had applied to the Rata Foundation for funding but was unsuccessful.
‘‘The facility is well-used and needs more space, so we feel the risk is relatively low,’’ the council’s community and recreation general manager Chris Brown said.
‘‘The worst case scenario is, if the trust is wound up, the building will pass over to the council and we will have a good community asset.’’
The council will borrow the money on the trust’s behalf, with the trust paying it off over 10 years at an interest rate of 4.65% to cover the council’s costs, Brown said.
Responding to a question at last week’s council meeting, chief executive Jeff Millward said the council was well within its self-imposed borrowing limit of 250% of its rates revenue.
‘‘We could borrow another $150 million and still be within our limit.’’
The council’s debt is about $200m, around 150% of its rates revenue, with a large chunk of it being due to borrowing $100m to repair and replace assets following the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes.
The North Canterbury Sport and Recreation Trust manages five fitness centres in Rangiora (two), Kaiapoi and Amberley, as well as the Oxford facility.
The proceeds are used to fund community programmes such as sports coaching in schools and initiatives to help people improve their health.
■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
Poll: Is dumping an issue in your neighbourhood?
There's nothing worse than strolling around the streets in your neighbourhood and seeing dumped rubbish.
Have you noticed this in your area? What could we do to combat this around the country?
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42.9% Yes, I've seen some illegal dumping
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56.4% No, our neighbourhood is pretty good
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0.7% Other - I'll share below
Vanessa
“Giggly girt! Giggly girt!”
“See I got my hair cut on Friday. I've got my hair band to keep it up. See? Like this I keep it up.
Biscuit Blair - she's my favourite woman. And you. And that cheeky lady over there.
My last name is Rule. I'll write it down for you, you silly old duff.
I was born on West Coast. I moved here when I was a little girl.
I like doing pictures here that’s why I like pictures. Doing art. I like going for a walk. I come here Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday.
My sister, I go see her on Saturday. Have a cup of coffee, at home. She's five, nine. 59. I'm five, seven, 57. This year I'll be 58. My birthday's on a Thursday. I'm having chocolate cake and pizza. And lolly ice cream.
Some people are noisy. Nicholas, and Peter and Chris, they are my friends and that giggly girt over there.
I get headache sometimes at other work, because noisy.
I'm happy here. I could go for a walk if I want to. I'm good.”
- Vanessa, White Room Creative Spaces
The White Room is a community creative space that removes barriers to
making art. Through this, artists build confidence and connections and
embrace new opportunities.
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