Population growth and plant decrepitude have combined to shut off sewage access by planned new houses to Martinborough’s wastewater treatment plant _ after the Greater Wellington Regional Council issued a stop-and-desist Abatement Notice last August.
The notice warned South Wairarapa District Council (SWDC) that additional connections to the sewerage system “would further compromise the plant’s performance, increasing the risk to the environment, public health and safety.”
The public health risk from previous discharges to the river is very low and independent specialists engaged by Greater Wellington “assessed the environmental risks as negligible,” SWDC said in a statement.
Mayor Martin Connelly said the abatement notice means “the council is obliged to pause applications for new connections to the plant, effective immediately.”
Some 30 new sewerage system connections which have already been received and approved by Council will be honoured and a connection made to the wastewater network, he said in a statement.
Currently the council has no active subdivision applications for sewerage connection consents that have been halted, and it has not indicated a time frame for when approvals will resume.
Interim chief executive Paul Gardner, appointed in mid-May after the resignation of Harry Wilson,
said the council, together with contractor Wellington Water, “is urgently working on a delivery plan to bring the (wastewater) plant back to full compliance.”
Mayor Connelly added: “we hope to have the plant compliant within 24 months. We will pause new connections for only as long as needed.”
He noted that funding for both components of the plan is not yet confirmed, and “significant extra funding from either the council’s 2024-34 Long-term Plan or from the new water reform body will be required.”
The upgrade work comes on top of council moves to raise its rates revenue for the coming year by an average 15 percent, suggesting further increases ahead.
The council statement noted the regional council’s abatement notice had been issued because of the frequency of non-compliant sewage discharges from the plant to land and water (river).
Greater Wellington warned SWDC through the Abatement Notice “to cease and be prohibited from commencing all unauthorised discharges from the treatment plant by 15 August 2023 and continue to comply thereafter.”
Legal action against SWDC is possible if it fails to comply with the formal notice, Connelly noted.
He said the plant requires new pumps, ultraviolet (UV) systems, screening and treatment systems, among other things.
“We have also seen higher than expected growth, both in terms of population and new service connections, since the resource consent was renewed in 2016. This has put extra pressure on the plant, pushing it beyond its capacity limits,” Connelly added.
He said SWDC hopes to have the plant back to a compliant state within 24 months. It is also working on a plan to increase its capacity to handle future growth.
“South Wairarapa District Council appreciates the impact this decision will have on developers and people seeking to build new homes in the town.
“We regret having to make this decision, which we know will temporarily slow growth in the region,” Connelly said.
Timeline:
15 August 2022 – SWDC received Abatement Notice from Greater Wellington.
1 December 2022 – SWDC responded to Greater Wellington with corrective action plan,.
13 March 2023 – Report from independent scientist to assess the effects of continued noncompliance with the land-discharge limits and effluent quality standards on water quality and ecology in the Ruamāhanga River. (Not released at this stage).
21 April 2023 – Wellington Water wrote to SWDC advising approvals for all new connections to cease.
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