Council initiative improving erosion compliance across Auckland

An Auckland Council erosion control initiative, Close the Gap (GAP), has seen an increased level of compliance in the residential construction sector.

Implemented last year, the council initiative has seen more than 5500 residential building sites visited by two full-time Regulatory Compliance officers dedicated to ensuring adequate sediment controls are in place.

Small sites account for around 600 hectares of land disturbance per year, GAP Senior Project Specialist Graham Jones says.

“Recent statistics show 51 per cent of residential construction sites are still lacking appropriate erosion control, however, this is an improvement on the figure of 90 per cent prior to project commencement,” Graham says.

“With around 13,500 small sites developed annually across Auckland small sites make up the bulk of land-disturbing activity."

“Even though some sites are small, the combined pollution effect on catchments downstream can be dramatic and expensive as damage is also caused to stormwater infrastructure and networks.”

Non-compliance can attract instant fines of $750 and in some cases that can lead to fines every day if the offence continues.