Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More

Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | News Video | Crime | Employers | Housing | Immigration | Legal | Local Govt. | Maori | Welfare | Unions | Youth | Search

 

HDC highly critical of Hugh Ritchie Media Release

Hastings District Council highly critical of Hugh Ritchie Media Release

Hastings District Council today expressed strong disappointment at the “irresponsible and misleading” media release issued in the name of Hugh Ritchie, a board member of Irrigation NZ.

“It is concerning that someone connected with a pro-irrigation lobby group appears to be trying to use the calamity of the Havelock North water contamination event to defend and promote intensive agriculture” said Mayor Lawrence Yule. “It is even more concerning that Mr Ritchie claims to have seen investigation evidence that Hastings District Council itself is not aware of as a party to the joint investigation being carried out by Council, the Hawke’s Bay District Health Board and the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council”.

“The comments made by Mr Ritchie do not align with the results of testing on the bores to date” said Ross McLeod, Hastings District Council Chief Executive. “Testing to date shows that while some of the gland seals in the bores are not in the condition expected given independent inspection of the bores earlier in the year, the back-up safety systems (sump pumps and flood alarms) are all working as designed when put under a worst case flood event. In particular the flood alarms functioned on battery power even when the power is off”.

“This suggests that if water had got near the seals in the August storm event the flood alarms would have gone off” said Mr McLeod. Our analysis so far indicates no alarms were activated during that storm event”.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

“It is far too early in the investigation to be drawing the conclusions Mr Ritchie has reached. While further testing may reveal problems with the bores, there is still 2-3 more months of testing to do on the bores, the aquifer and the surrounding catchment. However, the testing completed to date shows no clear evidence that water entered the bores through the bore heads. There is also no evidence as yet of any cracks in the bore casings despite Mr Ritchie’s claims”said Mr McLeod.

Other Council comments on the release:

• The water infrastructure in Havelock North is not at the end of its serviceable life. Council has a fully funded infrastructure strategy to provide for all required infrastructure investment.

• The flood alarms in the chamber around the bore head and the telemetry worked as designed when flood tested with the power off.

• Contrary to Mr Ritchie’s statement, the Council understands that there is documented evidence of contamination in other bores in the area at times.

• There are numerous hoggets grazing in the catchment surrounding the bores.

• Scientific testing indicates that the campylobacter strain found in human samples in August is highly likely to have come from sheep.

• Mr Ritchie’s illustration of the Havelock North bore is highly inaccurate.

• There are a number of possible pathways around the bores through which contaminated surface water could enter the aquifer. “These are all being investigated, and once they were made aware of the situation, the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council has been concerned enough to cap and make safe many of them already” said Mr McLeod.

With reference to the 1998 water contamination event, investigations failed to definitively link the increased level of campylobacter cases to faults in the Brookvale bores. While the water supply was chlorinated at the time, suspicion also fell on the aquifer. Hastings District Council was required to undertake additional water testing for a year to re-establish secure status for the aquifer supply.


© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines


Gordon Campbell: On The US Opposition To Mortgage Interest Deductibility For Landlords


Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don't think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of political capital by giving landlords a huge $2.9 billion tax break via interest deductibility, while still preaching the need for austerity to the disabled, and to everyone else...
More


 
 

Government: Concerns Conveyed To China Over Cyber Activity
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity... More

ALSO:


Government: GDP Decline Reinforces Government’s Fiscal Plan

Declining GDP for the December quarter reinforces the importance of restoring fiscal discipline to public spending and driving more economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says... More

ALSO:


Government: Humanitarian Support For Gaza & West Bank

Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More


Government: New High Court Judge Appointed

Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.