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14/09/2016, 14:30

Action was taken to prevent petrol tipped down a stormwater drain from entering the Otepuni Stream in Invercargill this afternoon.

Environment Southland received a report that 5-10 litres of petrol had inadvertently been put into a diesel tank and then emptied into a stormwater drain on Racecourse Road, Invercargill.

The Fire Service attended the incident removing diesel/petrol from the road and kerbside, then a sucker truck was sent to the site. As a result our compliance team is hopeful that none of the petrol will resurface in the Otepuni Stream.

Environment Southland Pollution Prevention Officer Leonie Grace said it was a timely reminder that we all need to be careful about what we put into the stormwater gutters and drains along our streets. These drains feed directly into rivers and are designed for rainwater only - they're not attached to any treatment systems, she said.

This means anything that goes down a stormwater drain ends up polluting our rivers. We all need to be conscious of this and do things like wash our cars on the lawn or gravel where the soap suds can be absorbed.

Read more about the stormwater system and what you can do to help.