Dannevirke: Whales bring woe to district

Tararua District Council chief executive Blair King.

Whales in Woodville are causing problems and it is going to cost the Tararua District Council $50,000 to eradicate them.

But they are unlikely to become a tourist attraction and instead of generating a tourism windfall, they will cost. The whales have appeared in the town's treatment pond and sorting them out is something the Tararua District Council had not budgeted for, council chief executive Blair King told councillors in a recent report.

Mr King said whales was a term used to describe bubbles that appeared in the liner of the town's treatment pond.

"The whales have appeared because the ground water level underneath the pond is forcing up methane gas, which is causing these whales to appear above the water, not allowing the gas to disperse out of the vents on the outer edge of the pond lining."

Mr King said there needs to be a better base for the pond liner so the vents can work properly.

"If anything is left in the pond, it will ferment and then bubble the cover, that's the whales," he said. "Any methane build-up under a black object is going to have this effect."