Bay of Plenty Regional Council is advising residents with bores or water takes near Saturday’s petrol tanker crash at Paengaroa to check for signs of contamination from the spill.

Regional Council Acting Team Leader Pollution Prevention David Ede said about 9500 litres of diesel and 400 litres of petrol was spilt by the overturned tanker, and amounts had been confirmed with the haulage company which owned the tanker.

“While there was no immediate contamination of the nearby waterway due to the quick actions of the response team, the fuel which entered the roadside drain could have contaminated groundwater near Old Coach Road and Maniatutu Road moving in a north to north-east direction towards the coast,” he said.

Residents in this area should check for petrol films or odour in water bores or water takes and if they think the water might be contaminated they should call the Regional Council’s Pollution Prevention Hotline 0800 884 883.

“If the water is used as a drinking water source residents should notify Toi Te Ora Public Health on 0800 221 555. Council staff will continue to investigate any potential contamination of water supplies in the area, and will be sampling soil and streams that may be contaminated,” he said.

Click here for map of spill site.

ENDS

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