Midges cost ratepayers big bucks

Midges breed in the Bromley wastewater ponds swarm light sources at dawn and dusk. Photo / 123RF

Fighting midges at the Bromley wastewater ponds has cost ratepayers $800,000 over the past two years.

But people living nearby say the problem is worse than ever.

Midges breed in the ponds and they swarm light sources at dawn and dusk and settle on vegetation and surfaces such as windows and doors.

Bromley Wastewater Treatment Plant. Photo / Geoff Sloan

Most of the money was spent last year, with $580,000 going into control programmes in 2016, more than double the usual spend.

City council head of three waters and waste John Mackie said the extra money was a response to increasing complaints from residents and an unusually long summer.

The city council has been working with a contractor to douse the ponds with a synthetic insect hormone, S-Methoprene, which caused a "significant reduction in midges leaving the ponds," Mr Mackie said.

Another treatment used in the past was stopped as it was "dangerous to human health."

The chemical insecticide Malathion was discontinued in 2008 as it posed a danger to those applying it.

Mackie said there was no associated risk to the environment or the public.

Shortland St resident Paul McKinley said it was odd that in spite of the money being spent, the situation hadn't improved.

"It's been worse in the last year. They seem to be a constant, even when the weather gets cool. We were eating them with our Christmas dinner. We can't even have a barbecue or go outside at night."

Residents near the Bromley plant have been struggling with the midge problem for years.

Another resident who has lived in Shortland St for 30 years, Janet Profit, said the treatment the city council was using hadn't done any good.

"We still get them every night and they're still there in the morning. Whatever they're trying to do isn't accomplishing anything near satisfactory."

Last month she raised the issue with the Coastal-Burwood Community Board, which has asked the city council to investigate.

The $800,000 spent was more than the previous four years combined.

In 2012 the spend on midge control was $190,000; 2013 was $150,000, 2014 was $170,000 and 2015 $150,000.

The total spend for 2017 up until the end of March was $192,000.

Mackie said the city council was "working with our current contractors, other pest control companies and consultants to find alternative control programmes."