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Auckland Council is slamming the brakes on any further new development in Warkworth because its wastewater treatment plant on the Mahurangi River has reached capacity.
Watercare last week announced that it has asked council to add a condition to all future new residential and commercial resource consents in Warkworth, stipulating that no wastewater connection can be made until the Snells Beach treatment plant is operational. The new facility is expected to be operating by mid to late next year.
Essentially, people can be granted a consent to move forward with their project, but they cannot connect to the wastewater network.
Watercare conservatively estimates its decision will affect about 50 dwellings, who may now have to wait 18 months to have their resource consent approved.
Chief strategy and planning officer Priyan Perera says that given timeframes for resource and building consent applications and approvals, especially for larger developments and those applications which come in closer to mid-2025, it is not anticipated that there will be a material delay for every project.
“It’s important to note that this restriction on a connection to Watercare’s system will not affect private renovations for existing customers,” Perera says.
He adds that existing consents will not be affected. This means anyone who has an existing resource consent or building consent – with a current commitment of a public wastewater connection – will still be able to connect when they’re ready, provided all relevant consent conditions have been met.
Watercare urges anyone seeking to build in or near Warkworth to get in touch with them to discuss their plans before investing in the resource consent process.
“We have a $300 million infrastructure programme underway that will replace the existing Warkworth treatment plant, built in 1955, with a state-of-the-art facility at Snells Beach. Construction is progressing well and we’ve already built the ocean outfall that will be used to discharge treated wastewater.
“We’re close to completing the Lucy Moore wastewater pump station and are currently tunnelling a transfer pipeline that will take Warkworth’s wastewater from the new pump station to Snells Beach.”
Perera says Watercare is taking steps to ensure the existing plant continues to meet its resource consent conditions, which are designed to protect the environment.
Meanwhile, the area north of the river including the Warkworth Ridge development, will be subject to further delays due to other limiting factors in the local wastewater network.
Perera says this is separate to the capacity issue at the wastewater treatment plant, and won’t be resolved when the Snells Beach plant opens.
A new pipeline that is currently in the planning phase will ease the restrictions in north Warkworth, but there is no firm completion date for this project.
Watercare hopes to announce a final route for the pipeline late next month.
Seven options have been evaluated over the past year, based on environmental impact, community impact, ease of construction, ease of operation, land and property access, and lifetime cost of operation.
One Mahurangi has vigorously opposed one option, which was to route the pipeline along Queen Street.
The organisation fears businesses will close if the street becomes a construction site.
Watercare says council may still grant resource consents for developments north of the river, but with conditions that mean the developments cannot connect to the wastewater network until both the new treatment plant is open and the new pipeline is finished.
If anyone has questions about what this may mean for them or their development, they should email warkworth@water.co.nz. If the query relates to an existing consent, include the consent number in the subject line.
