An investigation into the contamination of the creek at the Orchard Grove subdivision has now been dragging on for 81 days, since Otago Regional Council staff first took water samples following complaints from residents in September.
Yesterday, ORC director of resource management Selva Selvarajah said any decision to prosecute the Dunedin City Council or the plumbing company was still several weeks away, but expected before the end of the month.
The "reasonably complicated" investigation could lead to an infringement notice being issued or a prosecution launched, although but it was not appropriate to speculate about the likely outcome at this stage, Dr Selvarajah said.
However, in either case the ORC would seek to recover costs incurred as a result of its investigation, which after 81 days was likely to amount to a "substantial" bill, he warned.
"The amount of work doesn't play any part in the severity of the action, but all the investigation time will be accounted for.
"This must be quite substantial," he said.
An exact figure would not be known until detailed invoicing of ORC staff time was completed, but a recent one-day investigation about dust coming from the ORC's own waterfront building site had resulted in an order for $450 in costs, he said.
The Orchard Grove contamination stemmed from cross-connected sewerage and stormwater pipes at two of the subdivision's new homes, which went undetected for up to 18 months until residents spotted waste in the creek.
The investigation since has centred on whether whether the Dunedin City Council's building inspectors should have detected the fault before signing off on the new homes, or whether the plumbing company was to blame for connecting the pipes incorrectly.
DCC staff and the plumbers involved have since been interviewed, and the Official Information Act used to examine DCC records relating to the incident, Dr Selvarajah said.
An interim staff report was presented to ORC senior management last week, but was sent back requiring further work.
Once that was completed, a legal opinion would be sought before the ORC's senior management made a final decision, he said.
Residents of the 22-lot subdivision, spoken to by the Otago Daily Times at the time the contamination was revealed, were upset their children had been playing in the creek for up to 18 months, unaware it was contaminated.
DCC staff have since reviewed their procedures, resulting in a new procedures for plumbers to prove they had correctly connected pipes.
Contacted yesterday, DCC development services manager Kevin Thompson did not want to comment, saying only he was aware the investigation was continuing but yet to hear directly from ORC staff.
