Don’t poison the ducks
The pond at Botanic Garden was turned white last week by, what council believes, was someone washing paintbrushes and allowing the residue to go down the drain.
“There’s nothing they can do about it, they just have to wait until it flows away, so there’s no associated cost,” WCC communications advisor Karen London says.
“But once every five years the pond gets cleaned out.”
The duck pond is fed by the Pipitea and Puketea streams and stormwater drains in Kelburn and Northland empty directly into them. Water from the pond eventually reaches Wellington Harbour near Westpac Stadium.
“Street-side drains or sumps are direct links to our waterways. No treatment, no filtering – nothing happens between what goes in the gutter and what ends up in streams and the sea,” says Best, who holds the ‘Three Waters & Waste’ portfolio.
“So the message is please, people, don’t put anything down there you wouldn’t want your children swimming in.”
Anyone caught polluting waterways – including by tipping anything other than pure water down street-side drains – can be liable for thousands of dollars in fines.
Best suggests that people wash cars on grass or at a carwash, take waste chemicals, oil or other pollutants to specific sections at council landfills; and rinse painting equipment in the laundry sink.
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