Muriwai's new "waste water treatment plant" should go nicely in between the Tennis Courts and the 'Village Green'

There seem to be an awful lot about shit on this blog, we promise it won’t always be like this!

This is just a quickie on this issue, as we feel a more ‘in-depth’ article is in order.

Anyone out there up to date on the ‘Waste Water Group’?

No?

Join the club… because neither to we.

This group was set up after the RDC (Rodney District Council) encountered some pretty lively residents at a public meeting a couple of years back. The RDC was planning to install a “waste-water treatment plant”, read “sewage treatment plant”, in Muriwai to do away with the septic tanks that were apparently causing a health hazard.

The RDC thought that a simple public meeting would suffice in ticking off the ‘public consultation’ box, unfortunately it ended up with a committee, unfortunately for us ratepayers that is, because it’s kept consultants in the money for the last 18 or so months, and we are no closer to having a solution.

As we said, this issue can’t be covered in one post as it’s complicated.

But does everyone realise that unlike neighbouring Councils where they fund capital works out of rates, RDC (who is probably broke again) on the other hand doesn’t (unless you live in Orewa). This means we, as in the ratepayers, have to stump up the cash directly for the whole system, plus the costs of linking up to it (which will be compulsory). You might be thinking “fair enough, whats a few thousand dollars” (and we at The Oaia Rock have no problem with user pays in principal). If you were thinking fair enough, you might be interested to know that at current prices, this could well equate to $40,000+ for each property.

Of course, it’s not going to be built this year, or next year, so the cost keeps going up, in two years it could be over $50,000 per property.

As a ratepayer/property owner you will be required to pay this to Council (quite separately from rates) as a one off payment, and you will be required to hook up to the system, which could be at least another $5000 per property.

You might wonder what’s been happening to all your rates to date, probably financing capital works in Orewa. You might argue that seeing as you’ve been paying rates for years and little to see for it, it’s about time Council put the cash back and pay for the system, after all isn’t that what you pay rates for in the first place?

Well as logical as that is, that doesn’t apply here. Probably because RDC’s been so piss poor in managing it’s finances historically, that they blew your cash ages ago on… other… ’stuff’. So if Muriwai’s sewage plant does ever go ahead, you’ll need to be dragging the cookie tin out from under the bed, because RDC is going to be looking for a pretty sizable cheque from you if you’re a property owner!

Next time… where is the facility to be sited? This will excite the residents of Motutara, and ‘enhance’ their property values no end!