The multimillion-dollar wastewater problem faced by town of 830 residents
A multimillion-dollar plan to resolve Akaroas wastewater woes is dividing a Banks Peninsula community as a third set of proposals are publicly released. After more than five years, two rounds of consultation, and delays caused by faulty data , the Christchurch City Council has come up with four options to get rid of Akaroas treated wastewater. One resident says the proposal will destroy pristine farm land while another is looking forward to having a new native forest on her doorstep. Three of the proposals involve planting between 33 and 48 hectares of land with native trees and irrigating them with the treated wastewater at Robinsons Bay and Takamatua, or across the hill at Pompeys Pillar or Goughs Bay. READ MORE: * Akaroa aquifers being considered as a solution to village's wastewater woes * Akaroa's wastewater woes continue after multimillion-dollar idea scrapped * New proposal seeks to resolve Akaroa's wastewater woes * Faulty measurements delay Akaroa wastewater scheme These options are estimated to cost between $54 million and $76m, which represents a cost of between $44,591 and $62,758 for each of the 1211 houses and businesses that will benefit from the scheme. Akaroa has 830 permanent residents. The fourth option involves putting the water into Akaroa Harbour via a 1.2-kilometre pipe, but this option is not supported by council staff or Ngai Tahu, which sees the practice as highly offensive. However, it is the cheapest at between $45m and $52m. The preferred option is using land in Robinsons Bay and Takamatua (inner bays). Unlike the other two locations the council believes most landowners appear willing to negotiate. However, the council has said it will use the Public Works Act to acquire land as a last resort. The council says the inner bays scheme will create a new wetland and three new native bush areas, providing ecological, cultural, recreational and educational benefits. Two storage ponds with a combined water surface area of 8300 square metres are also planned for Robinsons Bay about the size of a rugby field. But some Robinsons Bay residents are upset about the proposal. Chris Moore, who has lived in the area for 15 years, said a council document said 27,000sqm would be removed and cut out for the ponds, which was close to four rugby fields. Its going to completely ruin the nature of the valley. The development will destroy pristine farm land in favour of native bush that is already in abundance in the area, he said. They never talk about the midges and the odour or likely influx of Canada geese. The councils consultation document said there would be no odour from the ponds and midges could be attracted to the area, but it could effectively manage them . Moore believes the entire wastewater scheme needs a rethink because 70 per cent of the total wastewater volume is made up of stormwater and groundwater. The wastewater scheme proposed is three times bigger than it needs to be if the pipes were replaced and the infiltration fixed or eliminated. We want the pipes fixed first and then an appropriately-sized plant installed. He also wanted the water treated to a drinkable standard. Council staff admit there are high levels of stormwater and groundwater entering the pipes, but said it was about 61 per cent and true wastewater was about 39 per cent. Council water supply programme manager Bridget OBrien said the council was working to resolve the problem and was repairing 1.5km of wastewater pipes, but most of the stormwater and groundwater was coming from private properties and was the responsibility of property owners to repair. She said New Zealand regulations do not yet allow for treated wastewater to be reused. Not everyone in the bay is against the scheme. Robinsons Bay resident Kathleen Reid, who lives next to the proposed scheme, said she was once against the project but has changed her mind. She supported the planting of native forests and believed they would be wonderful for the area, visually and environmentally. Ive done my homework on it and read everything, learnt everything there is about it. Im a bigger picture person, climate change is a concern. Time is running out for the council to find somewhere to put the treated wastewater. It had originally planned to keep sending it into the middle of the harbour through a pipeline, but Environment Canterbury declined the consent because of Ngai Tahu opposition. The councils existing consent runs out in October and the council has applied for permission to keep discharging until it has found an alternative. Submissions on the proposals open on Tuesday and close on August 23.