Call for another option

BY DENISE PIPER

Stopping raw sewage from spilling into Whangarei Harbour is not the only project that costs money, says action group Save Our Harbour.

But it is the only one singled out to cost ratepayers extra in the Whangarei District Council’s draft long-term council community plan.

The council is consulting on its 10-year plan, with the summary including four options for improving the district’s sewerage system.

The options range from a $4 million extra pipeline at Okara at no extra cost, to a $30m upgrade to reduce spills to once every 10 years at an extra cost to reticulated households of $149 a year for 15 years.

Group spokesman Warren Slater says the wording is slanted to get ratepayers to tick the first option, which will not cost them extra.

Mr Slater says there have been no costings added for items like the second harbour crossing or running the Puwera landfill.

"They’re saying ‘we’re going to make you pay’ but people have been paying rates for the last 20 to 30 years for basic infrastructure."

The group plans to complain to Audit New Zealand and the minister of local government. It is encouraging everyone to put in submissions and suggests an option five – zero tolerance to the dumping of any untreated sewage into the waterways.

Mr Slater says he would like to see the council upgrade the network to a standard that prevents sewage discharges.

"The harbour is the jewel in the crown and a big part of Whangarei. Health must be at the top."

But the council says the draft outlines four options that are considered realistically possible for the sewerage upgrades, given the physical constraints and finances available from ratepayers during the next 10 years.

Chief executive Mark Simpson says the costing for the upgrades is included in the draft plan because it is a new project.

Each long-term council community plan covers all the activities, services, projects and budgets for the following 10 years. Every three years a new plan is produced that takes the council three years further than the last one.

Mr Simpson says a lot of the work in the latest draft plan is a continuation of work that has already been planned, costed and consulted upon in previous plans.

But when new projects come up – like the four wastewater management options and the Puwera landfill this year – the council needs to go into more detail.

Mr Simpson encourages people to put in submissions but asks they consider their issue in the wider context of all the council’s services and the funding likely to be available.

For more information about the plan, or to get a full copy, go to www.wdc.govt.nz/ltccp or phone 430-4200.Submissions close on May 8.

- See the Whangarei Leader next week for more information about the rubbish disposal options.

- © Fairfax NZ News