Rolls of vinyl and carpet, linoleum, building materials and black rubbish bags were all found scattered down a steep bank in Burma Rd in Ross Creek Reserve, less than 50m away from the entrance to the water treatment plant.
Marlene Dick, who lives within 1km of the reserve, discovered the pile on Friday morning.
Mrs Dick said the disposal of rubbish in the reserve was "unbelievable" and would have cost $20 at the most to dispose of it properly.
"How could anyone be so horrible?"
Her husband, Colin Dick, said the rubbish would take a lot of work to be removed.
He wanted to see the person who dumped it pick it all back up.
"The Ross Creek area there, it’s pretty special," he said.
"To see somebody just doing that, to save taking it out to the trash, it’s not good at all."
Fellow resident John Oskam said he discovered the rubbish on Friday on his lunchtime walk and rang the Dunedin City Council immediately.
He was reasonably upset after discovering the peace and tranquillity of Ross Creek had been disrupted.
"Who would have the conscience to do that?"
A council spokesman said they had been notified about the rubbish and would be removing it over the coming days.
"It’s always disappointing to see people illegally dumping rubbish in this way, and we encourage everyone to do the right thing and use the appropriate services and facilities to discard their rubbish."
tim.scott@odt.co.nz , PIJF cadet reporter
