My Account
Stormwater management is a contentious issue in the north, where Auckland Council plans to introduce a controversial new targeted rate in drainage districts at Tapora and Tomarata. Rural landholders say there is a vast discrepancy between what Healthy Waters says it has spent on keeping drains clean and any evidence of the work being done. Rodney Local Board member Colin Smith, who represents the Wellsford division, has been one of the loudest critics of the targeted rate and the way Council is managing drainage issues. He says there are lessons to be learned from last week’s disastrous floods in Kumeū …
The ancient Romans invented aqueducts from 312 BC as a method of transporting water from reservoirs to their cities. The purpose was to transport drinking water and to aid in removing sewage. They understood the basic principle that gravity can assist the flow of water from the reservoirs at a higher altitude to the cities at a lower altitude. The same principle was used to remove sewage and flooding from the cities. They understood that if you didn’t keep the aqueducts and waste channels clear, you would be swimming in excrement.
For this reason, the flooding in Kumeū was entirely predictable. Instead of keeping the drainage paths clear, Auckland Council has decided to impose rules which dictate those landowners must fence these drains, and plant them with plants and trees. Where is the logic and leadership within this institution?
Summarising this incident, it amounts to putting the plug in the bath, turning the taps on full bore and going shopping.
How about some more facts?
Kumeū is built on a flood plain. Council has elected to develop this area into a satellite city and given consent for hard surface infrastructure (roofs, roads, carparks, etc) capable of catching water. This means greater amounts of water travelling down drainage channels at unnatural volumes. Then factor in the fact that drainage paths are blocked and the Kumeū River is full of silt, vegetation and riparian planting.
The original Drainage Act 1908 clearly outlined the requirements by the incumbent authority to keep the drainage paths clear.
The Government introduced the RMA in 1991, prohibiting landowners from cleaning drains and requiring consent for drainage paths over 25 metres in length. Clearing drains in accordance with this Act is cost prohibitive (bureaucratic compliance costs) so, consequently, drainage is ignored.
Council is responsible for maintenance of the overland flow path. Council can direct the landowner, through Court, to clear the drains. Council is responsible to make sure all outlets up to 1.7km from the high-water mark are open and clear of all obstruction. For this to happen, Council must get resource consent. How stupid is that?
Council, the Government and the Greens have decided that they know better than the ancient Romans; introducing a law that requires landowners to fence all drains and use riparian planting to stop silt getting into our harbours. This leaves the landowner unable to comply with the original Land Drainage Act.
Council is using ratepayer money to block the drainage with riparian planting. Will they use ratepayer money to unblock the drains? Will Council introduce another targeted rate to fix this mess? This is clearly not an insurance problem.
We are now about to see the Government make the biggest mistake of them all by introducing the Three Waters Policy. Over regulation and more micromanagement will come at a cost.
