Council aims to protect and enhance the District’s clean green physical environment and promote a healthy and safe community.
The Council owns and operates four urban reticulated sewage collection and treatment systems with a combined length of 163.4km. These serve the communities of:
- Arapuni (3.4km)
- Putaruru (35.2km)
- Tirau (7.2km)
- Tokoroa (117.7km)
In addition to the reticulation systems there are associated pump stations and treatment plants. In recent years, the treatment stations at Putaruru and Tokoroa have been upgraded. An upgrade is currently being commissioned at the Tirau Treatment Plant.
Much of the major maintenance and capital work is contracted out on a competitive tendering basis. The Council sees sewage as a core function for public health, environmental and safety reasons. The Local Government Act 2002 empowers Councils to be involved in these activities.
The assets and facilities associated with this service are all owned by Council with much of the reticulation network located on Council land, including reserves. Capital works are all contracted out to external providers. The facilities are managed by Watermark, Council’s Business Unit. This has proved to be a cost effective option, given the absence of alternative providers in smaller rural communities.
Everyone in the community benefits from the sewage collection and treatment services, from individual land owners to clubs, organisations and commercial and industrial ventures. It is considered desirable if a property is connected to the system or could be connected to the system.
While the service provides predominantly private benefits, the community at large benefits from the elimination of public health risks arising from open sewers and inadequate septic tank facilities. Environmentally sound treatment services reduce the adverse impact on receiving waterways. This improves the environment downstream from the treatment plants and benefits property owners in the adjacent rural areas within and beyond the District boundaries.
Of all the funding tools available, Council considered that the most efficient, effective and transparent method available was a targeted rate on a uniform basis on each serviced rating unit. Properties connected to the service pay the full charge and those that have the service available, but do not use it, pay half of that charge. Multiple charges (ie, pan charges) are levied on non-residential properties. A scale of pan charges has been established to reflect the cost of sewage collection and treatment. These charges are used as a proxy for a User Charge as direct charging is administratively both impractical and inefficient. A targeted rate on a uniform basis acts as a proxy for the private benefit and also for the public good element.
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