Wellington Regional Council fines $ 90,000 for dam discharge that ‘decimated’ the creek

By Jonathan Mitchell of RNZ

The Wellington Regional Council has been fined tens of thousands of dollars for the controversial discharge of a dam.

The council washed the upper part of the lake at the Birchville Dam in September last year, leaving heavy sediment downstream that alarmed residents who found dead trout covered in mud.

In a hearing in Wellington District Court today, the council was fined $ 90,000, having previously pleaded guilty to two counts under the Resource Management Act.

Wellington Fish & Game manager Phil Teal said the broadcast was decimated.

“Not only had the trout, eels and thugs evidently died in the stream, but the thick layer of mud left in the stream would have killed all the aquatic insects, essentially destroying the entire ecology of the stream,” he said.

Teal said it could be years for Birchville Creek to recover.

While he said the regional council took immediate responsibility, he believed it had not learned from its mistake.

“Despite today’s ruling, the sad aspect is that the GWRC has requested resource consent for ongoing maintenance work at Birchville Dam, which could involve more discharge events,” he said.

– RNZ