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An “outfall pipe” recently completed by Watercare on the Mahurangi Peninsula.
Watercare has forcibly extended the lease on its wastewater project site at Dawson Road until January 2024 by using the Public Works Act after a lease extension was denied by the Rodney Local Board.
Mark Dinniss, of the Snells Beach Ratepayers and Residents Association (SBRRA), told local residents at a meeting earlier this month that he intended to investigate the validity of using the Act in this way.
Previously, the SBRRA successfully lobbied the Local Board not to renew Watercare’s lease, after Dawson Road residents complained about noise, dust pollution and threats to their children’s safety because of the site.
Watercare spokesperson Maxine Clayton says careful consideration was given to public and Local Board feedback when considering the extension of the lease using the Act.
“Re-establishing the site elsewhere was rejected by Watercare due to the significant project expenses and disruption to the programme of works.”
She says relocating the site would have cost more than $500,000, at a time when Watercare was under “significant financial pressure” due to Covid-19 and the recent drought.
Ms Clayton says Dawson Road will no longer be used as a construction site and instead will be used for temporary offices and storage of pipes.
“This will mean fewer heavy vehicle movements, which will also be restricted during school drop-off and pick-up times.”
Work will resume later this year to build a new pump station at Warkworth and a “trenchless wastewater pipe” from Warkworth to a new wastewater treatment plant at Snells Beach.
At the meeting this month, Mr Dinniss told residents that he did not believe it was appropriate for pipes to be stored on Dawson Road when the majority of the works were being done further north.
