Matamata-Piako District Council has been fined $105,000 for repeatedly discharging poorly treated wastewater into a Waihou waterway.
The council was convicted in the Hamilton District Court after an investigation found the Waihou wastewater treatment plant had been releasing wastewater, including sewage, exceeding consent limits between late 2022 and October 2023.
Regional compliance manager Patrick Lynch said resource consents were "licences to operate", designed to protect waterways.
"Meeting consent conditions is not optional. They are important and are designed to safeguard our waterways," he said.
"In this instance, there have been significant and avoidable discharges over a prolonged period."
Judge Melinda Dickey said the discharges, which spanned over seven months, were "not only culturally offensive, but also contribute negatively to the overall health of the water".
The regional council had previously warned MPDC for similar breaches between 2017 and 2022.
Council response
Matamata-Piako District Council pleaded guilty at a hearing in October and accepted responsibility for the breach.
The council said a faulty UV filter at the Waihou plant left the treatment system partially offline for months, leading to partially treated wastewater entering the Waiwhero Stream.
CEO Manaia Te Wiata said the council "sincerely apologises" to those affected, including mana whenua.
"The care and protection of our environment is a core part of Council business," he said. "We take our environmental responsibilities seriously… any breach of resource consent conditions is unacceptable."
A $1.7 million project to fully decommission the Waihou plant and divert wastewater to Te Aroha’s upgraded facility has since been completed, eliminating the risk of similar failures, the council said.
Last year, the Matamata-Piako District Council were fined nearly $70k for discharging sewage into the Mangawhero Stream over a five-day period.
In 2018, a wastewater pipe in Morrisonville was broken when a tree fell on it, discharging sewage into the Piako river before it was repaired. The council were fined nearly $50k for "unlawful and avoidable discharged of wastewater".
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