A significant environmental cleanup is scheduled to commence in April at the historic Upper Cleddau Flats landfill, colloquially known as ‘Little Tahiti,’ located 2.5 kilometers south of Milford Sound Piopiotahi.

The site, which stretches inland from the Tutoko and Cleddau Rivers, dates back to the construction of the Milford Road some 70 years ago.

Department of Conservation (DOC) Operations Manager (Te Anau) John Lucas, said gravel had been extracted from Little Tahiti for the road's construction, with the site subsequently serving as a landfill until the mid-1980s.

“DOC, Environment Southland, and the Ministry for the Environment have been collaborating on this site since investigations revealed contaminants like asbestos at levels posing potential risks to human health and the environment,” Lucas said.

The 8,200 square meter landfill contains various waste materials, including heavy metals, building materials, hydrocarbons like petroleum, and general municipal waste.

Located just 100 meters off the main SH94, Little Tahiti has restricted access and is closed to the public.

Lucas emphasizes the urgency of the remedial work due to contamination and erosion risks.

“We are seeing more frequent high-intensity rainfall events in Milford, like the 2020 floods, which caused significant damage across DOC’s network of tracks in the region, including the Milford Track.”

A previous weather event in 2019 led to a landfill breach in South Westland, spilling buried waste into the Fox River and sending it 21 kilometers downstream through Westland Tai Poutini National Park into the Tasman Sea.

This incident, known as Operation Tidy Fox, underscores the pressing need to address Little Tahiti to prevent a similar environmental disaster.

Funding for the cleanup is split, with DOC covering 50% and the remainder sourced from the Ministry for the Environment’s Contaminated Sites Remediation Fund before it closed.

The Ministry has allocated $2,024,700 for the remediation works.

MfE Waste Investments Manager Lara Cowen, said they were pleased to support the remediation of Little Tahiti and enable DOC to proactively address a site at risk of exposure in such a special place for New Zealanders.

"The Ministry continues to fund projects like Little Tahiti through the newly opened Contaminated Sites and Vulnerable Landfills Fund.”

The cleanup at Little Tahiti is expected to take up to two and a half months to complete and may impact State Highway 94 with some traffic delays and increased truck movements on the road to Milford Sound.

“Public safety is paramount while work is being carried out,” Lucas said.

“There will be notifications as early as possible on the visitor information networks for Milford Sound and SH94 Milford Road updates.”