Warning signs removed from Pandora Pond
Warning signs advising people to stay out of the water at Pandora Pond have been removed.
Hawke’s Bay DHB has reviewed the interim results from sampling undertaken following last Thursday’s overflow, and the results of ongoing work investigating Friday’s acid spill. It is satisfied any danger to the public from the contamination caused by these incidents has passed.
During the response to both incidents and in the days afterwards water samples were collected from both the affected waterway and Te Whanganui-a-Orotū (Ahuriri Estuary).
There may be ongoing effects on shellfish in the estuary.
Napier City and Hawke’s Bay Regional Council staff are continuing to investigate the causes of each incident "to ensure events of this type do not occur in future", a spokeswoman said.
Last Friday, officials advised against Pandora Pond for 48 hours in case it had been contaminated by an overflow from the Pandora industrial area the day before.
It was only discovered at 3.40pm by NCC staff carrying out a routine check on the Mersey Street wastewater pump station.
At the time, a NCC spokeswoman said staff worked to successfully remove the blockage in the wastewater pipe underneath Mersey Street, plus removed 40,000L of potentially contaminated water, to be transported to the wastewater treatment plant.
The water is sourced from a number of industries including tanneries, meat processing, and rendering.
The acid spill, which came from Galvanising Hawke’s Bay, occurred last Friday in the Thames St area, which then entered the stormwater system and into the Tyne St drain.
NCC used vacuum trucks that extracted 40,000 litres of acid-contaminated water, during the night and a team worked into the early hours of the morning carrying out fish-kill assessments in the channel leading from the spill gate out onto the mudflats towards Embankment Bridge.
Hydrochloric acid can cause severe chemical burns if it comes into contact with skin.
"Outside of emergency situations such as this people need to be aware that swimming and any form of recreational activity which brings you into contact with water should also be avoided for at least three days after a rainfall event," a NCC spokeswoman said.
