Netting and poles placed around the pool last year have been left under a nearby tree. Photo / Alex Burton
Netting and poles placed around the pool last year have been left under a nearby tree. Photo / Alex Burton
Dog walkers in East Auckland have raised concerns over a sewage-like stench from a mud pool in Glendowie Park.
Watercare has confirmed the presence of ammonia in the pool, but said it is very unlikely the smell comes from wastewater and could be related to animal faeces. Further tests are taking place.
One resident and the owner of Tibetan terrier Pippi, Vicky Russell, first heard about the pond when chatting with other dog owners, who told her, “Don’t let your dogs go in the pooh pool.”
Rusell and another dog walker, Ron Brauer, said one resident had told them to disinfect her car after her dog got sick from contact with the sludge.
The mud pool at Glendowie Park that has tested positive for ammonia. Photo / Alex Burton
The park in Glendowie is used by regular dog walkers who say their community knows about the issue, with some dogs allegedly getting sick.
Last year, the small pond was fenced off with orange netting after initial complaints of the smell, but when it dried up, the netting was removed, and nothing further was done. The netting and poles have been left under a nearby tree.
“Has it been tested? Somebody needs to prove it’s not what everyone thinks it is,” said Russell.
She said that when there was heavy rain and pooling in other areas of the park, birds would avoid the spot completely, adding to her concerns.
Ultimately, the area needs to be fenced off properly and repaired, said Russell.
The netting and poles placed around the pool last year have been left under a nearby tree. Photo / Alex Burton
Watercare operations manager, wastewater networks Faiz Salim said last December, a broken wastewater pipe was identified in a bush area within Glendowie Park, which was repaired in February/March.
“We have not received any complaints or reports of potential overflows in the area since then,” Salim said.
Salim said a maintenance crew was sent out to investigate the latest claims and carried out an ammonia test, which confirmed the presence of ammonia.
“However, this could be related to animal faeces. It looks very unlikely that these mud puddles have wastewater in them, however, we will check existing CCTV footage of the nearby pipes and arrange additional CCTV inspections if needed. We don’t believe the earlier repair and these mud puddles are related,” he said.
Auckland Council manager, area operations, Martin Wong said the council is aware of two mud puddles in the park, and a third starting to form.
“We will get these cordoned off while we look into how these mud puddles formed and what we may be able to do to prevent this from happening in the future, including testing the water,” Wong said.
He said the council is unaware of any customer complaints relating to the mud puddles.
