Hawke's Bay regional councillor Rick Barker says he will hold Napier City Council to account

Hawke's Bay regional councillor Rick Barker says Napier City Council is absolving themselves of responsibility of pollution in the Ahuriri Estuary. Photo / File

A regional councillor says Napier City Council is trying to downplay its responsibility when it comes to pollution in Ahuriri Estuary.

However, NCC says it's just only one part of the puzzle.

Rick Barker ripped into the Napier City Council, saying they were distancing themselves from their responsibility by claiming they are not the only group polluting the estuary and that it is a legacy issue.

"They're the ones who manage the sewerage systems and the sewerage system malfunctions are the pinnacle of the problem.

"They are primarily responsible."

Napier City Council chief executive Wayne Jack said they were looking at the estuary as a whole.

"Regional councillors seem to forget about the entire estuary, and focus solely on the small piece of the puzzle that NCC is part of.

"The purpose is not to attribute blame, but to make the correct decisions moving forward, based on facts.

"It should be noted that wastewater overflows from the city's wastewater network have occurred two or three times in the last 10 years.

"E. coli-laden rural run-off is a significant contributor to contamination in the estuary and occurs every day."

Napier City Council CEO Wayne Jack says multiple parties have a role to play in the pollution of Ahuriri Estuary, and therefore the solution. Photo / File

Barker said the council's planned development in areas such as Taradale was going to exacerbate the problem.

He said if development occurs on the current systems, which already overflow during periods of prolonged rain, it would make the problem worse.

He told council representatives he would be holding them to account.

"As regional councillor, I am here to hold you to account, firm and tough, so that's what I'm going to do."

Not all regional councillors agreed with Barker.

Neil Kirton, the council's representative on Te Komiti o te Whanga, said he was very encouraged by the approach and philosphy of Napier City Council.

"We're seeing a very substantial amount of investment from your team in place to deal with the issues," he told Jack during the meeting.

Barker's comments came during a Napier City Council presentation to the regional council on the issue of their waste and storm water management systems.

NCC representatives discussed planned work with the regional council, such as stormwater cleaning wetlands and planned smoke detection to find out the exact places in the stormwater system that there is wastewater infiltration.

Most of Napier's storm and wastewater systems were built between 1940 and 1980.