Septic tank cleaning may change to every five years

Septic tank owners have nine days to comment on plans to extend the inspection and desludging period for on-site wastewater disposal systems from three years to five years.

The Far North District Council is reviewing a bylaw it adopted three years ago and will accept public submissions until March 19.

Infrastructure and asset general manager David Penny says the council is reviewing the bylaw because some property owners who have reached the end of the first three-year cycle have complained that the cycle is too onerous.

The fact that the bylaw expires next year makes now an opportune time to review the rules, he says.

The council proposes to extend the inspection and cleaning regime for waste-water systems, such as septic tanks, to five years.

It also plans changes to the way it regulates bio-systems and worm farms.

Mr Penny says there was much public debate about how often systems should be desludged when the council introduced the bylaw.

The council at the time decided to take a conservative approach and opted for a five-year cleaning cycle.

Having administered the bylaw for three years, it has decided there may be scope for extending that period to five years.

Mr Penny says reducing the period to three years will lower costs for householders without compromising the objective of the bylaw, which was to reduce the risk of environmental pollution.

The five-year cleaning cycle will come into effect in July if the council decides to adopt the proposed changes.

Details of the changes can be viewed at council service centres or on the council’s website at www.fndc.govt.nz.

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