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Kaipara District Council has admitted in a public statement that it has underestimated the rate of growth in Mangawhai and current wastewater budgets are grossly underfunded.
Council had planned to spend $36.2 million on wastewater infrastructure in Mangawhai over the next 20 years. It now estimates it will need more than double that amount.
Sustainable growth and investment general manager Sue Davidson told councillors on September 7 that further investigations completed this year showed that the budgeted future funding needed to be increased.
“The preliminary scoping is estimating we could be looking at spending up to $90.5million in the next 20 years,” Davidson says.
“Population growth and wet weather events had been considered as part of our initial planning. The investigations completed this year shows both of these infrastructure pressures are tracking higher than predicted and we believe that what we had initially planned for is now insufficient.”
Council is grappling with higher than previously projected development in Mangawhai which was driving an increasing organic load, as well as more frequent and extreme wet weather events, exacerbated by climate change, which was driving an increase in the hydraulic load (peak flows).
The report said that the balance tank currently under construction would buffer the peak flows, but further upgrades were needed to cater to the increasing organic load. Water is currently disposed to a farm on Brown Road and Council is planning to supplement this with disposal to the Mangawhai Golf Course. Additional disposal is also being considered via a wetland at Brown Road.
“Future disposal to the golf course and wetland is also supported by Te Uri O Hau iwi.”
Council will undertake further detailed financial analysis including looking into future debt and development contributions.
