Diesel spill chokes Etete River

Three weeks after a diesel spill from the Avon peaking power plant, the yellow fossil fuel can still be seen floating on the surface of the Etete River three kilometres downstream.

Farmers and workers in Groutville are outraged that the spill – that happened on April 6 – has yet to be cleaned up.

Local farmer, Ashley Pillay said that he became aware of the problem on the April 7.

“I traced the spill upstream and immediately contacted an environmentalist,” he said.

Pillay said there there had been many objections from farmers to the plant being built because of air and noise pollution, but they had not even considered that there might be diesel pollution as well.

“They have yet to start generating power and already this has happened.”

Avon plant operations director, Marius Engelbrecht and construction director, Pascal Bourdeaux, confirmed that the leak was a result of construction activities but gave no details of how it had happened.

“One of our contractors informed us that there had been a spillage of diesel into the Etete River. We immediately informed the water and sanitation department and environmental affairs department.”

They claimed not to know how much diesel had spilled into the river, but said that an independent consultant had been called in to determine how far the pollution might have spread.

“It is difficult to determine how much diesel might have been spilled,” said Bourdeaux, “Even a small amount or diesel can spread out to look and smell like a large amount.

“The leak happened at the V drain which is the upper part of the river, so the first action that was taken was to have the V drain cleaned out by having the infected soil removed so that the diesel does not spread further downstream. The second action was to put in booms, a floating system that contains the pollution and stops it from spreading into the water,” said Bourdeaux.

He denied that the spill had been from the plant’s holding tanks.

The Avon peaking power plant will produce a capacity of 680 megawatts generated by diesel turbines. The plant is in its final commissioning phase, with operations due to start in September.

Dolphin Coast Conservancy chairman and Coast Watch member, Di Jones, said the spill was extremely concerning.

“Diesel is a fossil fuel. Even a drop can pollute a whole river. Anything that lives in the river will now be affected. The diesel will collect at the estuary at the bottom of the river, where fish can be found. This then affects the water which flows into the ocean.

“What I find most concerning is that many people from the Etete area do not have access to clean water and this water is no longer fit for human consumption. The overall damage will, however, depend on the density of the spill.”

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