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There was no mercy for Watercare at a public meeting in the Warkworth Town Hall on June 19, when nearly 200 businesspeople and residents gathered to discuss a proposed sewer main through the CBD.
Arrogant and incompetent were just two of the adjectives used to describe the way Watercare had gone about choosing its preferred pipeline route. Several people said trying to reason with them was “like banging your head up against a brick wall”.
The meeting was told that five options had originally been on the table when discussions started three years ago with One Mahurangi Business Association.
Association co-chair Dave Stott said they were led to believe that there was only a very small chance that the Elizabeth/Queen Street option would be chosen.
Asked why businesspeople were not informed earlier about the plan, Stott said the meetings with Watercare were on condition that they remain confidential.
“How naïve is that!” was the reply.
Stott explained that it wasn’t until March this year, after nearly two years of silence, that the association realised that Watercare’s preferred option had shifted to the CBD.
Staged development
The pipeline project will be done in two stages – stage 1, from the showgrounds to Hill Street, is expected to start later this year. It will possibly be done in conjunction with the Hill Street intersection upgrade and if so, is likely to result in significant congestion.
Stott believed a start on stage 2, Hill Street to the Lucy Moore Park pump station, which Watercare wants to take through the town’s CBD, could be several years away, but would cause major disruptions to traffic and parking for 12 to 18 months.
Some businesses along Queen Street have already stated that this could see them close their doors or relocate.
Watercare had originally said it would confirm the route in May, but has since pushed this out to August. Cr Greg Sayers said this meant there was only a very small window of opportunity to lobby for an alternative. He said if the community could present Wayne Brown with a feasible alternative route, the Mayor was prepared to “go into bat for us”.
The majority of those present supported an alternative route down the Mahurangi River, but One Mahurangi said this would require a pump, which Watercare had ruled out in favour of a gravity system.
Stott said the most feasible route, given the time constraints, was one that went from Hill Street to Bank Street, behind the Bridgehouse to Mill Lane, under the bowls club to Neville Street, along Alnwick Street to Bertram and then down to Lucy Moore Park.
Oyster farmer Bill Morris said while he sympathised with business owners, worried about the impact on their business in two or three years’ time, oyster farmers were on their knees now because the existing sewerage infrastructure was not coping.
He said oyster farmers were constantly being shut down because Watercare, with Auckland Council consent, was emptying raw sewage into the river every time it rained.
“We need that pipeline in as soon as possible,” he said.
Morris claimed that on the previous weekend, 100 cubic metres of raw sewage flowed straight into the river after Sunday’s heavy rain.
“It’s happening on a weekly basis, and we can’t operate our businesses because of it.”
The new pipeline will serve the northern development areas such as Warkworth Ridge and Stubbs Farm, and a question was asked why these developers, who stood to make “big profits” from their developments, weren’t paying for the sewerage upgrade.
Stott said One Mahurangi was meeting developers almost on a weekly basis and they were prepared to make a contribution, but were facing the same intransigence from Watercare that the association was dealing with.
Other suggestions included a legal approach and ratcheting up the town’s opposition to higher levels of government.
One Mahurangi is expected to present its alternative route to Mayor Wayne Brown this week. It is also considering a national media campaign and is hoping to meet with the Minister for Local Government, Simeon Brown.
Watercare has so far refused to release to either Mahurangi Matters or One Mahurangi the methodology it used to rank the five routes.
Want to help?
One Mahurangi is asking anyone who wants to support the alternative pipeline route to sign a petition, which is available at most shops in the CBD. More than 1000 signatures have already been collected and OM would like to at least double that number before it presents the petition to Watercare in about fortnight’s time. Supporters are also being encouraged to write letters directly to Watercare’s chief executive Dave Chambers and board chair Margaret Devlin at the following address: Watercare Services, Private Bag 94010, Manukau City, Auckland 2241; as well as Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown (mayor.wayne.brown@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz) and local MPs.
