Five shopping trolleys, enough carpet to cover a room, and a live eel were among the interesting items found during a clean-up of Saltwater Creek in Nelson.
Volunteers from Whakatu Rotary, the Nelson City Council and Nelmac donned protective equipment and waterproof trousers to clean up the creek which had been “neglected”, said Brian McGurk of Whakatu Rotary.
“Every bit we can take out is stuff thats not staying in that eco-system,” he said.
By Patrick Hamilton. Eight year old Oliver Lock of Nelson and his father, Royce, gather rubbish during Saturday’s clean up of Saltwater Creek by the Whakatu Rotary Club, supported by Nelson City Council, Nelmac and Betta Bins.
Reports of some discharges in the creek which were “pungent” and “smelled like metal” would require further inspection by the council, said McGurk, who is also a city councillor.
But despite the mess, the group of volunteers were delighted to find an eel in the creek.
“We were surprised, he’s a tough little bugger,” McGurk said.
“All is not lost. We didn’t expect to see any kind of aquatic life.”
The group cleaned the creek from the upper open section of the footbridge near The Warehouse and worked towards the culvert under Vanguard St.
They also covered the down stream area from Anzac Park through to where the creek meets the Maitai River.
“Many people probably don’t even realise that this section of Saltwater Creek is a critical part of the region’s waterway and consequently seen by many as nothing more than an open drain, and it is treated as such,” McGurk said.
During the clean-up the the group found no less than five shopping trolleys — a new record.
“There aren’t normally that many. Someone has gone through the effort and trouble to put them there over a high fence,” he said.
The trolleys, a load of carpet and other debris found in the creek were taken away by Nelmac to dispose of.
The Saltwater Creek Clean-Up is part of the wider Nelson City Council run Project Maitai.
McGurk said the Rotary planned to organise another clean-up of the creek in early 2016.
– Stuff
Source http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/74292763/Saltwater-Creek-clean-up-reveals-big-waste