A payment of about $10,000 has been deposited into the accounts of Mahurangi Harbour oyster farmers – the only catch is they don’t know what the money is for.
The 10 marine farms have been in a seven-year battle with Watercare to stop sewage overflowing into the harbour north of Auckland, which contaminates their oyster crops with Norovirus.
The farmers have been unable to sell any locally-grown oysters from Mahurangi Harbour since Christmas in 2024, leaving them on the brink all year.
RNZ understands this week about 40 people that work across the oyster industry in the Mahurangi Harbour, which was worth nearly $10 million, have been let go.
Tom Walters from Matakana Oysters has been vocal about Watercare taking accountability for the pollution of the Mahurangi River, which flows into the harbour where the oyster crops are.
While the money was facilitated by Aquaculture New Zealand, it was unclear what the payment’s purpose was and if it originated from it or Watercare, he said.
Aquaculture New Zealand and Watercare have been approached for comment.
Walters said he worried about what it could mean around liability and any future legal action the farmers could take up with Watercare.
“I fear, and a few of the others fear, they’re just going to be played like puppets by Watercare.
“They’ll say, oh, we’ve given you a little bit, maybe here’s $50,000 more, and we’ve fixed the problem, see you later. They haven’t fixed the problem yet.
“I’d rather not have accepted it, because to me it was like, obviously, if you’re actually doing that, then you’re accepting that you’ve done something wrong here, number one.
“It needs to be $200,000 each for something, just to get through the shit that we’ve gone through this year and at times eight or nine, or whatever it is, or 10 oyster farmers, rather than $200,000 between us all, it’s an insult.”
Watercare have consistently said it would not be in a position to directly compensate the farmers financially, but did previously put forward $50,000 to support wellbeing initiatives.
Jim Aitken from Mahurangi Oysters said the $10,000 would not cover “basically a couple of weeks worth of bills” and was not sure whether they should have accepted the money.
“But again, we’re so desperate to keep operating that, of course, anything will help.
“What I’m trying to say is, I don’t know if there’s more coming or if that’s a shut up and leave us alone amount.”
None of the farmers RNZ spoke to said they knew where the money was from or what it was for.
More than three million litres of liquid discharge has spilled into the Mahurangi Harbour this year. It was more than an entire Olympic swimming pool worth of fluid that would include sewage and stormwater.
After each overflow, oyster harvesting was put on hold for 28 days to allow for testing for pathogens like Norovirus.
Much of the wastewater was thought to come from a pipe on Elizabeth St in Warkworth, which Watercare last month upgraded with a temporary fix.
Watercare programme director Rob Burchell told RNZ in a statement he believed it would reduce wastewater overflows at Elizabeth St.
“We completed the installation of a temporary over-pumping solution on Elizabeth Street that will reduce the frequency and volume of overflows to the Mahurangi River.
“This solution includes a manhole chamber that is three metres deep and 1.6 metres in diameter, along with two pumps and a pipeline designed to transfer wastewater across the Elizabeth Street heritage bridge, bypassing the existing wastewater network.
“We may be able to bring this pumping solution into service ahead of the commissioning of the Lucy Moore Pump Station, transfer pipeline and new Snells Beach Wastewater Treatment Plant in August.
“Testing will soon take place to confirm if this is possible. Work is also underway as part of the long-term solution – the Warkworth Growth Servicing Pipeline.”
Burchell said Watercare was undertaking potholing investigations in and around Great North Rd, Elizabeth St, Queen St and Kapanui St to locate existing underground services, which he hoped to be completed by late August.
However, a long-term solution to the piping problem on Elizabeth St was not expected until 2026.
Watercare maintain it was being compliant in Warkworth.
“Watercare is permitted to discharge wastewater at the Elizabeth Street overflow site under the Regional Network Discharge Consent (NDC), which allows for an average of 20.5 wet weather discharges per year (based on a five-year rolling average).
“Watercare remains compliant with the consent. This reflects that we are on a journey to reduce overflows to an average of 2 or less per year at Elizabeth Street by investing in new infrastructure,” a spokesperson said.
Watercare also said the reason for the higher volume of wastewater discharged this year, compared to 2024, reflected the wet weather Auckland had been experiencing, saying “it’s important to note that the vast majority of these overflows consist primarily of rainwater”.
