Confidential reports obtained by the Otago Daily Times nearly a decade ago said the disused gasworks’ tar well, underground at 45 Hillside Rd, presented a serious health and safety issue — and "a significant risk to Dunedin City Council in terms of the financial implications and the potential hazard to the environment".
Two years ago, the council was awarded $200,000 to come up with a plan for the site — the second time it was awarded funding from the Ministry for the Environment’s Contaminated Sites Remediation Fund for the project.
At the time, a council spokesman said the council’s long-term plan included $2.1 million in its 2023-24 budget and $540,000 in next year’s budget for any future remediation of the site.
The council this month said any details of its plan would have to wait until next year.
"We’re still working to finalise the best remediation option and costings for this project, but we’re not yet able to comment in detail," a council spokesman said.
"This planning stage is a time-consuming process due to the complexities of the work involved, but we’re working closely with the Otago Regional Council and Ministry for the Environment and all parties remain satisfied with progress to date."
A ministry spokeswoman said the council was meeting its obligations under the funding agreement.
"The ministry is aware the former Dunedin Gasworks is a complex contaminated site," she said.
"Our team regularly monitors the timeline for the project.
"The $200,000 funding has been approved, and will be released once the project milestones have been completed."
Recently, the joint city and regional council South Dunedin Future project team noted South Dunedin’s groundwater was "shown to be contaminated in some locations" due to the legacy of the Dunedin Gasworks.
However, a 2020 tar well remediation assessment by Tonkin + Taylor said groundwater sampling had indicated groundwater around the tar well was contaminated with "typical gasworks contaminants".
"Groundwater quality will have been impacted by the wider gasworks site and this contamination may not be directly related to the tar well itself", it said.
