Kāeo resident Melanie Schomberg holds her 4-year-old grandson Kairehu, whose asthma is exacerbated by dust. Alongside her is her son Nikora and daughter Shaelee.
Kāeo resident Melanie Schomberg holds her 4-year-old grandson Kairehu, whose asthma is exacerbated by dust. Alongside her is her son Nikora and daughter Shaelee.
Despite expanded dust suppression treatment, Far North residents say their lives remain blanketed in dust and they have questioned the effectiveness of the recent treatment by the council.
Last month the Far North District Council (FNDC) treated roads that normally receive duster suppressant, increasing the total length of roads receiving the treatment from 29km to 48.6km.
Each year, the council applies compounds to sections of unsealed roads where dust created by passing traffic severely impacts residents and community sites, such as marae and schools. The compounds are normally applied before Christmas and bond with road dust without making the road surface slippery.
The treatment is significantly cheaper than sealing the road but only has a lifespan of up to three months.
But residents said it was not enough and have called on council to do more and FNDC has vowed to continue seeking ways to minimise dust impact.
Far North residents said a dust suppression treatment by council was not enough and more needed to be done.
As a result of the dust, some have resorted to having expensive water filters installed, as they said water quality has been affected, while others have reported having health issues.
Kaingaroa resident Gail Thomson said she was excited when the council announced the treatment, but her excitement was short-lived as little changed after the application.
Kaingaroa resident Gail Thomson said she installed expensive water filters as dust affects the quality of water in her community. Photo / Yolisa Tswanya
Thomson, and other residents, said because of the dust their water quality has dropped, resulting in the water having “a funny taste”.
“I had a water filter installed and it cost around $800, then you have to replace the water filters at around $100 each time, it’s expensive.”
She said her health has also been negatively affected by the dust.
“I was excited when they did the dust suppression before Christmas, but it was not enough ... I have had to start using an inhaler and while I can’t say for sure that it’s caused by the dust, I have never used one before and now I do.”
Kaingaroa residents Sally Clarke and Mark Atkinson said council needs to do more to help residents with dusty roads that leave virtually all surfaces covered in dust. Photo / Yolisa Tswanya
Sally Clarke said many residents are experiencing serious dust issues because of the “poorly applied” dust suppression treatment.
She said they have written to the council with their concerns.
“Residents are becoming increasingly frustrated and feeling very much like we are going in circles, we get sent around in circles as we attempt to address issues.
”What we see is a lot of separate entities, like contractor and sub-contractors, each with their own areas of expertise, who offer little to no accountability or transparency. Oversight and monitoring of the quality of work, along with adherence to procedures is lacking and it’s costing our community.”
Kāeo resident Melanie Schomberg said she filed a complaint and received an email that it was received but has yet to get a response on a way forward. She lives on a street with frequent vehicle traffic and said that area was not done, instead a small corner on her street was treated.
“It’s shocking where we are, there is a lot of traffic, especially at the start of the road. We have two asthmatics in the house and when we have the front door open the dust comes right in the house and it affects them badly.”
“It would be nice if the council could drive in these areas and see what it’s like because I am sure a lot of where the treatment is done is decided on a computer.”
She said they have trees along their property line which helps with the dust, and also, it’s better after it rains.
“Vehicles have also slowed along our road at the moment which has also reduced the dust, but this is only now because of the fact that there is bad corrugation and potholes forming on the road.
“It just seems where they have sprayed the dust retardant is very inconsistent and erratic.”
FNDC head of infrastructure, Tanya Proctor, said the Gravel Lock dust suppression product was applied to 353 road sections on 104 unsealed Far North roads.
“Council allocated $500,000 for its 2024 dust suppression programme. An extra $250,000 was allocated to include roads that had received dust suppression treatment in previous years but missed out this summer.”
Council received 1736 complaints or requests for services (January 2020 to January 2025), but Proctor explained that the complaints were reviewed against the dust-matrix criteria.
She said the criteria used for selected roads was that houses were within 25m from the road, the average speed of cars, vans and smaller trucks was more than 65km/h, traffic volume was greater than 130 vehicles per day and at least 30 heavy commercial vehicles (HCV) used that road daily.
“The council cannot seal all the district’s 1594km of unsealed roads. However, it will continue to seek ways and funding to help it minimise the impact of road dust on Far North residents and communities. That includes investigating more effective dust minimisation techniques, such as the Otta Seal trial currently under way. “
”Otta Seal has been identified as a possible dust mitigation solution that could provide multi-year dust suppression. It is hoped that Otta Seal may prove to be a lower-cost solution for dust minimisation for the Far North.”
Yolisa Tswanya is deputy news director at the Northern Advocate based in Whangārei.
