Weekend mop-up as diesel spills in river

Wool absorption materials were used to mop up a diesel spill in Christchurch's Heathcote River during the weekend.

A Canterbury Regional Council pollution hotline response team worked on Saturday to minimise damage from the spill on the south side of the city.

The first absorption booms went across the river in the Hoon Hay area at 8pm on Friday night, soon after the spill.

More booms were put in place on Saturday morning.

The source of the spill - estimated at hundreds to thousands of litres and covering several kilometres of the river - is still not known.

The leak occurred late afternoon or early evening on Friday, just before riverside residents who smelled the diesel called the council around 7pm.

Ducks, shags and other river wildlife found coated in oil were taken to the after hours veterinary centre in Sydenham over the weekend to be "assessed, if possible cleaned and stabilised before release back to the environment", the council said.

Dozens of birds were cleaned, and many others were believed to have been looked after by local residents.

A specially designed wildlife washing facility takes over from the veterinary centre today.

The Christchurch City Council said the vast majority of affected birds were mallards and other common ducks.

However, scaups and shags were also likely to have come into contact with the pollution.

The regional council said people living along the river should keep their dogs out of the water while it was polluted.

Pollution response team co-ordinator Richard Purdon said a number of drains from the Halswell and Sockburn areas fed into the Heathcote River and needed to be checked to trace the source of the oil.

If the pollution was a deliberate act, the council would take legal action.

Mr Purdon said the inflatable booms and woollen absorption material would prevent damaging amounts of the oil getting into the estuary environment.

- NZPA