No one looked for eels before Hawke's Bay council's ill-fated waterway work killed dozens of them, report says

The Hawke's Bay Regional Council say they will take more precautions after the discovery of dozens of dead eels caused by drainage works this year. Photo / File

The Hawke's Bay Regional Council says it has made changes it hopes will prevent another eelmageddon, after dozens of eels died during its drainage works in February.

Upon discovering the deaths the council was forced to halt flood prevention "de-silting" on Dartmoor open waterway near Puketapu.

The silt was often picked up using a slotted bucket which meant some eels could escape - but not all of them. The sediment was also placed onto the bank near the stream to enable eels to make their way back into the water.

When this method wasn't possible, the council used a "dig and cart" method which meant they had to carry the silt off-site in a truck.

A council spokesperson said the "dig and dump" and "dig and cart" maintenance activities on wet drains had ceased until the new standard operating procedure is in place.

"Emergency works required due to weed blockages or other unplanned events will continue with a heightened focus on eel population."

A recent report presented to the council's Environment Services Committee states that during the works, neither the waterways or the sediment were inspected for the presence of eels.

"The material was then observed on 14 February by a member of the public who found a number of dead eels situated within the waste material."

The report said that in future, environmental factors had to considered more before any rural drainage work were to take place.

"Emergency works required due to weed blockages or other unplanned events will continue, with a heightened focus on environmental importance.

"A Ministry for Primary Industries investigation is currently under way and we have been co-operating with the investigation team," the report said.

In the interim, a new operating procedure will be drafted by council by May this year.

The draft involved working alongside mana whenua and hapu representation, an environmental science team and catchment services.

Invitations were also extended to both the Napier and Hastings district councils.

Matiu Heremia, who has a passion for the protection of native eels, discovered the dead eels.

He said although he was devastated by the deaths, he was glad plans were being put into place.

"I was just really glad that the works were stopped once they were made aware.

"These drains have to be cleared, it has to be done every seven years or so. It was my suggestion that a team gets together to plan around this sort of thing. I'd really like to see something implemented so what happened in February can be avoided in the future."