Kaipara: Four former dumps remediated but $1.2m budget remains largely unspent

Kaipara District Council has spent more than $200,000 remediating four former rubbish dumps in Kaipara but says it is unlikely to spend the full $1.2 million set aside for closed-landfill improvements by June next year.

Council manager community services Glynis McCarthy says investigations completed so far indicate the remaining budget will not be fully required, despite about $987,000 remaining unspent from the district-wide programme funded through the council's 2024-27 Long Term Plan.

The council has spent approximately $213,000 meaning 82% of the budget remains unspent.

McCarthy said the budget was made up of depreciation reserves, debt/loans, and rates. This money was only every drawn down as it was used. If funds were rated for, any unspent funds were ringfenced and put into a closed landfill reserve to be used on future expenditures.

expenditure was guided by technical advice, environmental risk, consent requirements and whether physical remediation works were needed.

The $1.2m budget is focused on preventing contaminants escaping from closed landfill sites through leachate, erosion, stormwater infiltration and other environmental risks.

It follows a district-wide assessment, commissioned in 2024 and undertaken by environmental consultants Pattle Delamore Partners, which reviewed landfill conditions, environmental risks, vulnerability to climatic hazards and future remediation requirements.

In a solid waste report to a council briefing meeting in Tangiteroria on Wednesday (SUBS: Wednesday 4 November) , McCarthy said many of Kaipara's former rubbish dumps were established between the 1950s and 1990s before modern landfill design and environmental standards were introduced, leaving council with responsibilities to monitor, maintain and remediate the sites.

The four sites targeted for recent remediation were all in western Kaipara with three south of Dargaville at Glinks Gully, Te Kōpuru's Clean St and Mosquito Gully on Pouto Rd, and the fourth at Omamari north of the town. Approximately $213,000 spent on this improvement work to date.

The largest project was in the tiny coastal settlement of Glinks Gully, where investigations found stormwater infiltration was allowing leachate contamination to enter Glinks Gully Stream.

KDC subsequently recapped this landfill and upgraded drainage infrastructure at a cost of $188,950. The site was later found compliant during a regional council inspection.

Omamari remediation involved drainage and stormwater improvements costing $17,789 have been completed, with ongoing inspections and maintenance continuing.

At Clean St in Te Kōpuru, erosion protection options were investigated and $6314 spent, although council says current operational advice is that physical works are not urgently required. The site remains under monitoring while KDC works with Northland Regional Council on the appropriate resource consents.

Meanwhile at Mosquito Gully, about 45km south of Dargaville on Pouto Rd, has been completed to regrade the landfill cap and prevent ponding water, helping meet consent requirements. The site continues to receive spoil from roadside drain-cleaning operations.

McCarthy said council's responsibilities extended well beyond the four sites that have received capital remediation works.

Closed landfill maintenance work was regularly carried out and included environmental sampling, consent compliance work, visual inspections, drainage and grounds maintenance, leachate management and physical work where intervention was needed.

The council's waste management and minimisation plan identifies 21 known former Kaipara landfill and historic dumping sites - 13 previously consented closed landfills and eight historical unconsented disposal sites.

The consented closed landfill sites are at Bickerstaffe Rd near Maungaturoto, Dargaville, Glinks Gully, Hakaru, Kaiwaka, Kellys Bay, Mangawhai, Mosquito Gully, Omamari, Pahi Rd, Parawanui north of Dargaville, Ruawai and Tinopai.

The historical or unconsented sites are at Clean St in Te Kōpuru, Cole Rd/Te Maire, Franklin Rd, Kaihu, Omana War Memorial Reserve, Pouto Point, Tangiteroria and Te Kowhai Rd.

McCarthy said closed landfill improvements particularly focused on resilience to climatic hazards including high-intensity rainfall, flooding, coastal inundation, land instability and erosion, with remediation work primarily involving landfill recapping and drainage improvements.

Northland Regional Council auditing found former KDC landfill sites at Dargaville, Kaiwaka, Ruawai, Tinopai, Glinks Gully, Hakaru and Bickerstaffe Rd compliant with consent and monitoring requirements.

The consultant's review found all assessed sites required some form of management response, ranging from routine monitoring and maintenance to physical improvements. However, only four sites were prioritised for immediate capital works.

Former landfill sites remain a long-term issue for councils across Tai Tokerau. While most of Northland's former rural rubbish tips have been replaced by transfer stations, some closed landfills continue to require monitoring, consent compliance and environmental management. The Ministry for the Environment says environmental risks from older landfills, including leachate, erosion, stormwater infiltration and land instability, can persist for decades after closure.