But the Otago Regional Council (ORC) has it in hand, a local councillor has said.
A distinctive pong, a bright green residue at the water’s edge and a very low tideline within the estuary have been noticeable to Kakanui residents since December.
The issue was aired at the Kakanui Ratepayers and Improvement Society meeting last month where longtime resident Lindsay Rusbatch said he had gone to the top of the ORC seeking answers.
Mr Rusbatch said he had never seen the river flow and estuary so low.
Several other longtime residents at the meeting agreed.
Mr Rusbatch questioned if the council was doing its best to manage it.
"We’ve never had it this bad ever — and I’ve lived here since I was 8," he said.
Mr Rusbatch said the council had communicated back to him the estuary was "not polluted".
"They say they have consulted the community — but they haven’t resolved anything."
The society appointed Mr Rusbatch as spokesman for the issue.
He subsequently told the Otago Daily Times the society was keen to work with the ORC as people genuinely feared swimming in the river.
"We feel they are deceiving us ... This is the worst season. Every year we do a kayak and boat trip up to Maheno with our neighbours and friends but we didn’t do it this year because it’s the worst it’s ever been," he said.
ORC Moeraki constituency councillor Kevin Malcolm said on Friday the council was due to report back to the Kakanui community.
He agreed the estuary had been low this summer.
Several factors were at play, including build-up of gravel and the lack of "a big fresh down the river" to flush out the riverbed as in the past two seasons.
Cr Malcolm said the council was watching the situation closely but he admitted the public did not necessarily see ready evidence of this.
In particular, the regional council’s website needed to be more user-friendly for people wanting to check on the specific location, he said.
"We don’t see a significant problem with the estuary [but] we’re not communicating enough ... and letting people know why the estuary is the way it is.
"We’ve done that poorly."
Cr Malcolm said the low water level issue was seasonal.
He said that since July last year, the council had been working towards a better system to ensure the estuary’s health.
"It’s actually quite exciting but it’s been too slow."
The Otago floods last October had been partly responsible for the delay with staff redeployed in its wake.
He said the council would come out with a formula that says when to open the river mouth.
