City Council investigates source of oil leak in Christchurch’s Avon River

The Canterbury Region Council has announced that the cause of an oil leak on the Christchurch Central River has likely been found.

The City Council was notified on April 29 that oil was leaking into the Otakaro/Avon River from a storm drain near a boatshed in Antigua.

A city council spokeswoman said a boom and pump were installed shortly afterward to contain the runoff.

They estimated that 200-300 liters may have been released into the river.

But then things improved.

“Only trace amounts of residue appear to have been released into the river and are being monitored and removed,” the spokesperson said.

“At this stage there is no evidence that it is still coming out of the pipe in large quantities.”

City council officials believed they had identified the source, but were unable to comment further during the investigation.

Staff worked with Christchurch City Council to check high-risk locations and to check rainwater in and around the network.

They also went door-to-door in nearby neighborhoods looking for high-risk activities that could lead to spills and put out targeted ads on Facebook.