Business North October 2021

32 | South Waikato District Council: 3 Waters Project REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Population growth spurs upgrade Hugh de Lacy Wastewater works already under way in the district include a new $9m wastewater digester. The old digester is pictured here. General & Precision Engineers Lloyds Approved Metallizing Specialists Holster Engineering Co (2003) Ltd management and sta are proud to have been involved with South Waikato District Council’s maintenance project’s for the past 56 years, assisting with multiple projects and machine overhauls, supplying all aspects of light to heavy engineering tting, machining and metallizing. holsters@xtra.co.nz www.holsters.co.nz Ph 078850300 09 633 0040 | sales@teltherm.co.nz | www.teltherm.co.nz I N S T R U M E N T S L T D INDUSTRIAL INSTRUMENTS, DELIVERED PRECISELY WHEN YOU NEED THEM WE DON’T SAY OUR PUMPS ARE BETTER... ...THE FACT THAT OTHERS COPY THEM SAYS THAT. Proud to be a trusted supplier to SWDC T he South Waikato District Council (SWDC) is planning to spend up to $40 million over the next 10 years to up- grade its wastewater treatment infrastructure in response to rising demand caused by the district’s growing population. SWDC manages a total of four wastewater treatment plants, 169km of pipes and 18 wastewater pump stations which have a total replacement value of $93million and has an annual operating budget of $5.7m with no fewer than ten staff being involved directly in running the treatment plants. Three Waters and Solid Waste Manager Phil Burt says the works are driven by the popula- tion surge that’s been going one for the past five or six years, and the need to meet new wastewater discharge consent provisions. “The district had a significant population decline through the 2000s and into the mid-2010s, but since then there has been an upswing in population and we are now having to plan for and build new infrastructure to cater for growth, particularly in the north of the district,” The growth in district – which has forestry and farming as its core - has been boosted by the stratospheric rise in Auckland property prices and rents, which has prompted would- be home-owners to reach ever further south for affordable accommodation. The water infrastructure investment comes at a time when the Government is rolling out its Three Waters plan to bring all clean, storm and wastewater under the control of four ded- icated multi-regional entities, relieving 67 local authorities of those responsibilities. This would see South Waikato joining Hamilton City and the rest of the Waikato region, the Bay of Plenty, including Tauranga and Whakatane, and the Taranaki, Ruapehu, Whanganui and Rangitikei Districts under a single umbrella authority. South Waikato mayor Jenny Shattock says that South Waikato’s urban communities al- ready have good three-waters infrastructure, “particularly in the water supply and wastewa- ter area”. “We have already committed significant additional funding to infrastructure improve- ments over the coming years, and that is re- flected in the previous and current Long Term Plans to cover growth, quality and the impact on our environment.” “Over the coming months we expect to have robust wastewater consents in place with the Waikato Regional Council for the next 35 years, and our water treatment processes are in line with the New Zealand Drinking Water Standards.” Wastewater works already under way in the district include a new $9m wastewater digester, the refurbishment of the existing di- gester, and a $3m denitrification plant funded through the Department of Internal Affairs and due for completion by March next year. New wetlands are being developed at Tīrau, Putāruru and Tokoroa. Multiple pump station upgrades are under way in Putāruru, along with pipe upgrades there and in Tīrau. The district also has a planned $6.75m upgrade of the Putaruru waste-water plant scheduled for completion in 2026, though Ti- rau is not due for such an upgrade until 2035. The South Waikato District Council recently releases its 10-year Long Term Plan. The plan includes 30-year infrastructure services estimates which suggest that three waters and roading costs combined will rise from just under $18m this year to nearly $40m in the 2046-2051 half-decade. While yet to decide whether to support the Government’s three waters reforms, the may- or says she questions whether the proposed new entities “will ensure that the South Waika- to community retains its voice over assets that our community has paid for”. “Given the general good state of our infra- structure and the sound financial future man- agement of replacement and maintenance, I wonder if our ratepayers will be better off financially under the Government’s new pro- posal,” she says.