The Hamilton City Council has been fined $76,500 after more than one million litres of wastewater overflowed into a Waikato stream in October 2020.
The city council maintains the wastewater network for over 160,000 residents and local businesses.
It was sentenced in court yesterday after prosecution was initiated by the Waikato Regional Council, the environmental regulator for the Waikato region.
It comes after the city council’s negligence led to the “avoidable discharges of large volumes of contaminant” into a tributary of the Te Awa O Katapaki Stream, in Flagstaff, over nine days, regional compliance manager Patrick Lynch said in a media release.
An estimated 1,272,000 litres of wastewater was lost into the environment over the period.
Lynch said while the city council is, “by and large”, able to maintain the wastewater network “very well from a regulatory and environmental perspective”, “in this instance, they have dropped the ball”.
The Waikato River is approximately 1.9km from the point of discharge.
Lynch said an investigation by the regional council revealed that Hamilton City Council staff “were aware” of the contamination on October 6, and that it had likely been occurring “for some time”.
“The source was found to be an overflow from the wastewater system into the stormwater system that then discharged into the tributary," he said.
"Despite having that knowledge, through a series of communication failures within the city council, the discharge was not stopped until 12 October."
A retrospective review of the city council’s data management system indicated wastewater was being lost into the environment as early as October 4.
Lynch said the case is a "very clear reminder to any company, or council, that manages large volumes of contaminant as part of their business".
“They must have fit for purpose infrastructure, manage that infrastructure well and ensure they take immediate steps to mitigate any discharges that occur into the environment.”
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