Draining Lake Lowe: 'Skeletons' of Hastings industrial lake could be revealed

Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst is calling for Lake Lowe to be drained, and the stormwater redirected. Photo / File.

Draining a potentially risky water body in the middle of Hastings could reveal skeletons of the area's checkered past.

New information revealed on Monday to Hastings District Councillor Damon Harvey suggests that Lowes Pit (or Lake Lowe) was once used as a dumping ground for thousands of diseased animal carcases from the freezing works in the 1970s.

Harvey was contacted by a resident who was involved and who recalls over a period of time, as many as 30 trucks operating on a 24-hour basis.

The former shingle pit, at 15 Hazlewood St is on council-owned property and came into the spotlight last week when Hawke's Bay Today reported Harvey had accused mayoral rival Sandra Hazlehurst of inaction over the urban lake.

His call came after meeting with a local resident who wrote to him, asking for "positive action". He was among 31 people the resident wrote to, including Hazlehurst, the HBRC, HBDHB, iwi and Health Minister David Clark.

The pit is part of the Heretaunga unconfined aquifer and is within the Frimley Bore source protection zone.

In June 2018, a report to the Works and Services Committee identified it as a "potential risk to the Heretaunga Plains aquifer".

But Hazlehurst fired back, accusing Harvey of "scaremongering".

Now, three days on, she is calling for the lake to be drained, and stormwater redirected.

"We have to fully understand where the redirection of the stormwater could go and ensure that it isn't going to create an issue somewhere else."

She said she was asking council and their consultants what their options were with redirecting the stormwater, and how they can get the pit "gone and filled up".

However, Harvey says the mayor has "backtracked".

"I am pleased that my strong stand has forced this response from the Mayor.

"Why has it taken her so long to react to issues that impact upon the public safety, just like the Te Mata Peak Track, the gang stand-off, the Spark cell tower and now a cesspit of a lake that is risking thousands of residents' lives?"

Under the current Regional Plan rules, the discharges of stormwater is a controlled activity. Consent must be granted for controlled activities. In this case, it was granted on November 1, 2017, and will expire on May 31, 2022.

HBRC Consents Team Leader Paul Barrett said the potential effects of the discharge were considered at the time the consent was granted and is also a matter that the HB Drinking Water Joint Working Group is aware of.

"Rather than setting discharge limits, the consent focuses on identifying and managing the risks at the source, with particular focus on identifying and managing high-risk sites."

Barrett said the HDC consent requires water quality testing and this is also required to be provided to HBRC.

As part of the consent HDC has with the Hawke's Bay Regional Council, the water is tested against NZ Drinking Water Standards (NZDWS) criteria.

"Ongoing monitoring of these discharges is occurring, and this could lead to additional requirements for treatment or controls at the source."

Lowes Pit is within one kilometre of 13 bores used for food processing, irrigation and drinking water supplies.

In recent months, it tested positive for high levels of E. coli, with levels in April peaking at 11,000 cfu per 100ml.

The resident told Harvey he was "not surprised" by the detection of E. coli.

He said they dug what they called "pie holes" where they would dig a hole, put the carcases in, and then cover it. Dehydrated lime was also used to break the carcasses down.

Hazlehurst said if this was the case, it would have "shown in the testing, but the results haven't shown anything like that in the pit".

Harvey disagrees, saying the lake is contaminated water which is interlinked with the aquifer. "That is a serious threat."

HBRC chairman Rex Graham said: "We have lots of legacy issues like this that we're dealing with that our forebears did and they didn't really understand all the complexities of the issues".