Media Release 15 May 2009
Roys Hill Landfill Minimal Risk
A report on monitoring requirements for the closed Roys Hill landfill near Hastings states that effects on the underlying aquifer are minimal and that the current monitoring is suitable.
Hawke's Bay Regional Council commissioned Pattle Delamore Partners Ltd (PDP) to assess the effectiveness of the current monitoring, and whether monitoring wells were deep enough to enable effective sampling.
“This report is a reassurance to the community that there are proper processes in place to monitor Roys Hill landfill for the long term, and that the aquifer is protected,” said Cr Eileen von Dadelszen, Chairman of the Environmental Management Committee which received the report this week.
PDP have reported to the Regional Council that the depth of the monitoring wells is suitable to pick up any traces of discharge, if this were to occur.
Due to the proximity of the landfill to the Heretaunga aquifer, which supplies potable water and water for food-processing industries and vineyards, extensive monitoring is required. This allows for any contaminants to be measured and if present to be assessed against risk to the water table below.
The old, closed landfill is sited over the Heretaunga Plains aquifer. Roys Hill is still a resource consented site and has been overtopped with an impermeable layer by Hastings District Council to prevent rainwater flowing through. A set of long-term monitoring wells upstream and downstream continually check for any impact on the environment.
When it was in operation, before stricter rules were set through the Resource Management Act, contaminants could have been deposited below the winter water table, and therefore the landfill had contact with groundwater.
The data collected from the wells indicates that any contamination leaching from this landfill is minimal. The report says that the waste has largely stabilised in the landfill and that there is now a lower risk of contaminants leaching than when the landfill was in operation.
The Pattle Delamore report confirms that the sampling programmes are effective and that no additional wells are required.
For further information please contact Drew Broadley, 06 835 2632.
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