Selwyn District Council are asking for residents to help reduce the amount of sewage flowing into the Halswell and LII rivers, and from there into Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere. This is the latest information about the situation:
The Halswell and LII rivers are contaminated – please avoid all contact with the water in these rivers until further notice.
The rivers are contaminated because the quake-damaged city sewers cannot take their usual volume of sewage from eastern Selwyn towns. The only option has been to pump the sewage into the rivers while the city sewers are being repaired.
Springston, Lincoln, Tai Tapu and Prebbleton residents are asked to help limit the amount of sewage flowing into the rivers. This means:
- Less use of cleaning products (bleach, Toilet Duck, dishwashing detergent, soap powders, etc)
- No flushing of sanitary products down the toilet
- Short showers (under 5 minutes)
- No baths
- Less washing machine use (full loads only – and only when really necessary)
- Less dishwasher use (full loads only), and
- Less toilet flushing (lease keep this to a minimum)
These unfortunate measures are temporary but necessary. Thank you for your cooperation. For more information, phone 347 2845 with any questions, or email savewater@selwyn.govt.nz
updated March 9th 2011
