12 April 2021
Media: Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: Waiariki MP's comments re Ngapuna wastewater infrastructure
Enquiry
We have received a press release from Rawiri Waititi at the weekend and are seeking some comment from the council in response. I've pasted the press release below so you can see exactly what he's saying.
Can you please comment on the following?
- What's the situation with the sewerage issues? Have they now been resolved?
- Is the sewerage plant faulty as claimed by Waititi?
- Does the council acknowledge the issues faced by the residents and the distress this is causing?
- Has the council been in contact/met with with tangata whenua over the issues?
- What do you say in response to his claims that it's just a patch up job?
- What do you say in response to this statement? "If this was a Pākeha community, or a rich one, the issue would be fixed straight away and a complete overhaul on the system would be in play. In fact, if it was a Pākeha community, the plant wouldn't have been put there in the first place."
- What do you say in response to the claim that it is council's "negligence coupled with their disregard for the severity of this issue"?
8. Please feel free to add anything else you think is relevant.
Release
RAWIRI WAITITI: "ROTORUA COUNCIL NEEDS TO CLEAN IT'S S**T UP", AFTER SEWERAGE CATASTROPHE.
This week MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi was invited to attend a community hui at Hurungaterangi Marae in Ngapuna, Rotorua - where locals spoke of the physical and psychological suffering they are experiencing, caused by faulty sewerage plant infrastructure in their backyard.
"I smelt the problem before I got out of the car", said Waititi. "The neighbourhood literally smelt like shit. The sewerage pump at the plant was broken and the pipes are too old causing leaks everywhere."
"The smell is foul and is making the people physically sick. Their sewage systems are exploding and wastewater is being discharged into the Puarenga stream; their ancestral waters. Also, in heavy rain, the incompetent sewerage system means that sewerage overflows onto their properties. This has happened despite previous patch up jobs"
"I understand the Council has said that the issues have been resolved. Well they haven't been. They've patched the job up, yes, but how enduring is this patch up? What is the long-term plan to prevent this from happening again? The fact that the water issues are fixed for the meantime, ignores the wider issues here," said the Waiariki MP which includes Rotorua.
"The Council are not listening to mana whenua and they have had enough. They've been constantly fighting this battle since the 1960's and it rears its head every decade or so and still nothing of substance has ever been done. They have been doing patch up jobs on this sewerage plant since it was established and they end up back at square one; s**t in their backyards"
"Ngapuna want a long-term plan that they are involved in. They want the Council to appoint a delegate to remain in constant consultation and contact with the Hapū because they deserve more transparency. We want the old pipes replaced (not patched up) and pumps fixed immediately. Ultimately, the Ngapuna community want the plant and pipes removed and that needs to be incorporated into the city's long-term plan which is being developed now."
"Until these matters have been addressed, there is no resolution to the water issues just a patch up job" said Waititi.
"This is no different to what the Tauranga Moana people are experiencing in Whareroa. A small Māori community being invaded by industries; alienating indigenous peoples from their land with their toxic chemicals and the Councils are allowing it to happen"
"If this was a Pākeha community, or a rich one, the issue would be fixed straight away and a complete overhaul on the system would be in play. In fact, if it was a Pākeha community, the plant wouldn't have been put there in the first place"
"It is about the health and wellbeing of the community. It is about equality. It is about honouring the Fenton Agreement. The Council's negligence coupled with their disregard for the severity of this issue is concerning and they need to act on a long-term solution now"
"More than that though, it's about honouring Hurungaterangi's ancestral links to their lands, to their waters, their whakapapa, and supporting them to remain connected to their whenua, their way"
Response
What's the situation with the sewerage issues? Have they now been resolved?
A wastewater main near the Hona Road pump station collapsed. The damage to the pipe allowed silt and other debris to enter the pump station chamber which blocked the two pumps, causing wastewater to build up inside the chamber.
TRILITY staff were alerted to the issue and responded immediately. Their quick action meant there was no spill or overflow of untreated sewerage and they were able to get the situation under control and get temporary diversion pipes and sucker trucks on site to manage the wastewater flow from the pump station to the Treatment Plant.
To repair the damage TRILITY and Fulton Hogan placed a temporary seal on the wastewater main. This stopped any further debris and groundwater entering the pump station. In the week following, specialised dive crews were called in to manually remove the debris from within the pump station chamber and unblock the pumps.
The pumps were unblocked on Friday 9 April and residents were notified that afternoon.
The issue within the pump station has been resolved but there is still work to be done on the wastewater main. TRILITY will re-line the 900mm pipe as an interim measure with a longer term plan to replace the damaged 10 metre pipe. The re-line will add about 10 years to the pipe's asset life but the full pipe replacement will happen much sooner than that - likely within the next couple of years.
Is the sewerage plant faulty as claimed by Waititi?
[NOTE FOR REPORTER: when you say "sewerage plant", we assume you mean the wastewater pump station - which is what needed fixing (as outlined above).]
The pump station is not a faulty pump station but was affected by the pipeline fault (as outlined above).
The damaged wastewater main and the pump station are located on a site at the end of Hona Road that Council owns. The main carries all the wastewater from the eastern area of Rotorua to the pump station. The pump station then pumps the wastewater uphill to the Wastewater Treatment Plant for full treatment.
The pump station and the wastewater main are about 45 years old. The wastewater main collapse, which caused debris issues at the pump station, was a surprise as it is only halfway through its design asset life. From investigations, we believe that the pipe has collapsed due to the combination of three things - Hydrogen Sulphide from the wastewater which is acidic, a high groundwater table in that area, and geothermal activity (sulphur) that can eat away at the concrete.
The issue was not related to the operations of the Wastewater Treatment Plant.
For your knowledge, Council has identified the need to upgrade the treatment plant and this project is proposed for inclusion in the 2021-2031 Long-term Plan (for delivery within the next 5 years). The upgrade will support a commitment to removing the discharge of treated wastewater into Whakarewarewa Forest, as has been agreed with mana whenua CNI Iwi Holdings Limited. The upgrade will also increase capacity for future growth in Rotorua and will improve treatment quality to meet Lake Rotorua quality targets.
Does the council acknowledge the issues faced by the residents and the distress this is causing?
Council acknowledges that the fault and pipe damage at the Hona Road pump station and the necessary repairs to resolve that were disruptive for residents in that neighbourhood. Staff visited those residents a number of times during the week to keep them up to date with what was going on and to thank them personally for their patience and understanding.
There would also have been odours coming from the site while the repair work was taking place at the Hona Road pump station.
However, outside of last week's issues at the pump station, Council is not aware of any recent complaints from the Ngāpuna community about overflows, odours or wastewater-related issues.
Council is bound by a resource consent to ensure that the Wastewater Treatment Plant does not emit odour and we have not had any contact from the regional council to say that we are in breach of that consent.
Has the council been in contact/met with with tangata whenua over the issues?
Last week during the repair work staff visited residents in Hona Road to provide them with information and updates about the work. These visits were well received.
Council has worked collaboratively with the Ngāpuna community in the last four years to improve the infrastructure in the area - that work has included new footpaths, streetlights, bus shelters and speed controls on the roads. Council has also met with the community regularly regarding the Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrade proposals and sewerage issues have not been reported via these forums.
We will be meeting with Mr Waiteti this week to discuss his concerns and if residents in Ngāpuna have any ongoing concerns we would be happy to discuss these with them directly.
Additional info/comments:
In this instance, the emergency procedures we follow meant staff were able to respond immediately and put measures in place to ensure there was no untreated wastewater overflow.
The wastewater treatment plant sits on land gifted by Ngati Whakaue for the establishment of the township. The site has been used for sewerage purposes since 1891, and the current treatment plant was established in 1973, with several major upgrades since then.
From time to time there are requests to Council to move the wastewater treatment plant from its current site. We acknowledge the concerns of those who wish to see that happen and continuously look for ways to improve our systems to minimise and avoid any impact on the community or environment.
At this point in time moving it would be prohibitive for a number of reasons including a lack of viable alternatives, operational practicalities in redesigning a reticulation system built over many generations and very high cost - it would cost at least $450m (based on current network replacement costs) as it would require constructing an entire new plant, wastewater piping network (currently about 500km of pipes) and pumping systems. The plant services most of our district.
Just like moving the Wastewater Treatment Plant, moving the pump station and wastewater main from Hona Road would be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Wastewater infrastructure is a critical service for the community and the importance of working in partnership with iwi to ensure the infrastructure strategy and planning takes into consideration appropriate cultural considerations is a priority for Council.
Council's work with iwi has resulted in the signing of a kawenata by Council, Te Arawa Lakes Trust and forest owners CNI with the three parties committing to continuing to work together to find a suitable long-term solution for our community with regard to discharge of treated wastewater. Working in collaboration with iwi has also enabled Council to progress a bespoke wastewater treatment scheme for Rotoiti/Rotomā that has relied significantly on the cultural guidance of the iwi and hapū in that area. Iwi are also involved in discussions relating to proposed reticulation at Tarawera.
Through the 2021-2031 Long-term Plan Council is proposing investments totalling $424m into infrastructure which includes proposed investment of $248m into stormwater and sewage infrastructure to ensure stable, reliable and safe networks that cater to future demand, are resilient to the effects of climate change and emergencies, and are environmentally sustainable.
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Media: Local democracy reporter
Topic: Work at landfill
Enquiry
Questions arising out of the agenda for Operations & Monitoring Committee meeting 8 April 2021 [see HERE]:
Regarding the landfill (pg 25):
Why did trees need to be removed from that site?
How, specifically, did the damage occur to the manhole and stormwater channel?
How much will this cost to repair? Has it been done yet or is it due to be done - if so when?
Response
From Waste Services and Sustainability Manager Prashant Praveen -
A number of the trees were identified to be in an unsafe condition. They posed a health and safety risk to personnel on site, traffic on the state highway and to wastewater and stormwater assets in the area.
During felling, movement of an excavator on a narrow strip of land between the old landfill site and the fence damaged the assets. The damage was minor and did not affect wastewater or stormwater flow.
The damage has been assessed and will cost approximately $10,000 to repair. This cost has been offset by the sale of some of the wood from the felled trees. The work to repair the damage will be completed by the end of the month.
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Media: Local democracy reporter
Topic: Generator at museum
Enquiry
Questions arising out of the agenda for Operations & Monitoring Committee meeting 8 April 2021 [see HERE]:
Regarding the generator at the museum (pg 30)
Why was that being used, for how long and was there an added cost for this? If so, how much?
Response
The following information was provided:
The generator was used for approximately four weeks. The main cables that supply power to the Museum building failed due to damage from heat and hydrogen sulphide corrosions. A temporary supply is now in place and further work to reinstate a permanent power supply is expected in the near future.
The cost of the generator for that period of time was $16,700.
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Media: Local democracy reporter
Topic: Aquatic Centre
Enquiry
Questions arising out of the agenda for Operations & Monitoring Committee meeting 8 April 2021 [see HERE]:
Regarding the Aquatic Centre (pg 31)
Why is the council contracting design work for the Aquatic Centre for refurbishment of the changing rooms (among other things) - isn't this subject to public consultation via the LTP? (pg 31)
Response
From Operations Group Manager Jocelyn Mikaere -
The design and refurbishment of the outdoor changing rooms is already funded through the initial budget to complement the work to upgrade the outdoor 50 metre pool and is expected to begin in June/July this year.
The refurbishment of the indoor changing rooms and foyer is dependent on the outcome of the 2021-2031 Long-term Plan consultation. As indicated in the 2021-2031 LTP consultation document, some significant replacements such as the roof and ventilation system are necessary. By progressing designs for the changing rooms and foyer past the concept stage we can make sure the roof and ventilation system are suitably-future proofed to allow less costly changes to other areas later.
Design work for upgrades to the Aquatic Centre has been ongoing during the current LTP period and has allowed Council to more robustly understand the costs that have been indicated to the community in the 2021-2031 LTP consultation document.