Action call on polluted creek

A high school principal is calling for action over the polluted state of Meola Creek.

Mt Albert Grammar School head Dale Burden says the water is so contaminated, rugby balls kicked in from the school’s nearby sports fields have to be retrieved with gloves on.

He has asked Metrowater last year to fence off the creek for the safety of his students.

Mr Burden says the problem is not the school’s responsibility and authorities need to step in.

"I’m not interested in waiting 20 years for sewer separation to happen," he says.

"They say they are a community friendly organisation but this is about as community friendly as the bubonic plague."

Meola Creek has become polluted because of combined storm and wastewater drains overflowing into the water.

Sewer separation projects which would stop the pollution are currently under way but will take years to be completed.

The creek runs between the edge of Mt Albert Grammar’s sports fields and the Kerr Taylor reserve.

Mr Burden says officials need to stop laying blame on each other and start fixing the problem.

"I would have thought it would just be responsible to clean it up.

"It shouldn’t have to be at the school’s expense because it’s not our fault," he says.

Rugby players Jayden Metcalfe, 14, and Matt McGahan, 15, say rugby balls often get kicked into the creek during practice.

"I wouldn’t want to be the one to get it out," says Jayden.

"It’s pretty bad and everyone is concerned about it."

An Auckland City Council spokesman says contaminants in the creek include e-coli and enterococci, which can result in gastroenteritis.

Students and the public are advised to stay out of the creek, he says.

A Metrowater spokeswoman says a decision to go ahead with the fence was made in February this year in conjunction with the Auckland City Council’s management plan for the creek.

The spokeswoman says the plan is now in the tender evaluation and acceptance stage.

Once the council has accepted the tender, work will begin on the fence.

Pat Prescott of the St Lukes Environmental Protection Society has also campaigned to get Meola Creek cleaned up.

"We’re hoping they’ll take some action now instead of waiting for another 20 years," she says.

"It’s filthy and full of bugs and really Third World."

Mrs Prescott says the creek has become polluted because the sewer system was built between 1900 to 1920 and cannot cope with the volume of people using it now.

The council is looking at ways to improve the situation across the city.

The city development committee last month called for the council to urgently work with Metrowater and Watercare to stop sewer and stormwater overflows into Meola Creek.

A meeting will be held tomorrow to discuss the resulting report.

It recommends the council and Metrowater continue to minimise the overflow of storm water and work to reduce the impact on the community.

It also says the only practical long-term solution is for Watercare to install a new interceptor main.

The report also suggests options to manage overflows when they happen such as raising the footpath alongside Meola Creek, notifying affected parties as soon as overflows happen, installing security fencing and signs and flood hazard mapping.

- © Fairfax NZ News