Clean Up Of Waiwhetu Stream

Hutt City and Greater Wellington Regional Councils are keen on advancing options for the clean up of the Waiwhetu Stream.

The lower reaches of the Stream adjacent to Hutt Park contain high levels of contaminated sediments.

Contaminants include heavy metals and organic compounds which found their way into the stream from the Gracefield industrial area prior to the mid 1970's.

Mayor John Terris and Greater Wellington Chairperson, Margaret Shields are pushing to see the stream restored to its original state.

"We have a real opportunity here to transform what is thought to be NZ's most polluted waterway into a healthy, ecologically diverse environment," says Mayor Terris. " It will be a big challenge, but one that I am personally committed to achieving".

"I see an opportunity for users of Hutt Park, including overseas visitors, to be able to access an eco-tourist feature of some importance in the region".

"Research undertaken to determine Community Outcomes for the Long Term Council Community Plan rated a clean, green environment as one of the community's top five priorities for Council, so this project needs to be treated with some urgency."

Mrs Shields is also committed to the proposal. "I see this as a high environmental priority for the region. My council has undertaken a significant amount of research work into the remediation of the Stream to date and we have monies included in our ten year plan to work towards this. Through groups like the Waiwhetu Stream Working Group, the community has left us in no doubt that it is time something was done about this toxic mess and Greater Wellington is pleased to be working with Hutt City to find a solution "

Hutt City is fully supporting Greater Wellington in applying for funding from the Ministry for the Environment to complete investigations.

This is the first year that the Ministry has made available funding to local government for the clean up of contaminated sites. A contestable fund of $1m is available each year for the next three years for investigations and remediation of contaminated sites.

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