A foul puddle at a stock truck effluent disposal site on State Highway 1 near Allanton has been blamed on a truck driver.
A local farmer contacted the Otago Daily Times on Wednesday to complain about the state of the site, which he said was flooded and smelly.
The site, developed by the Otago Regional Council, is the responsibility of the Dunedin City Council.
However, Otago Regional Council resource management director Selva Selvarajah said the regional council had received a complaint about run-off on the site last week and was investigating.
Dunedin City Council waste water treatment manager Iain Satterthwaite said he was aware the holding tank at the site was emptied earlier this week, but was unaware of the issue on Wednesday. When the tank reaches a certain level it triggers an alarm and is emptied by contractors.
After hearing the site was apparently flooded, Mr Satterthwaite visited yesterday and found the holding tank only half full.
It seemed a stock truck had either not been properly hooked up to the pipe to the holding tank, and effluent had been emptied on to the ground, or perhaps it had been driven away before its holding tank was empty.
Contractors were sent to clean the site yesterday afternoon.
Mr Satterthwaite did not believe it was a common issue. There was little the council could do unless witnesses contacted them. The council appreciated being told when people noted flooding or bogginess at the sites.
