Advisory Panel seeks community feedback

 

From the Mangawhai Community Waste Water Scheme Advisory Panel

The Open Day held at the Mangawhai Domain, Easter Saturday to meet members of the Advisory Panel and learn more about options regarding the Mangawhai Community Wastewater Scheme (MCWWS) attracted a number of people, with some travelling from Auckland on the day to attend. All were keen to learn more and give the Panel their feedback on their preferred options. Those attending were taken through a series of options set out on storyboards. Their questions answered, they gave the Panel feedback on the options they preferred.

Extending the pipework of the MCWWS would allow more properties to connect. Some of these properties are existing properties but many more are and will be created in the new development that is occurring in Mangawhai. These properties will all need to consider how they dispose of their wastewater so that it doesn’t find its way into the Harbour and connection to an existing scheme that has capacity would seem to be the best answer.

Harbour top priority
Advisory Panel Chair, D’Arcy Quinn, said that fewer people attended than expected but those that did wanted to learn more: “There are a number of options that people need to familiarise themselves with, consider and then let us have their feedback on. We want to know which options people prefer and why.”

The Open Day was not the only opportunity to provide feedback. People can view the storyboards online and print and complete the feedback form by going to www.kaipara.govt.nz. The feedback period will close on Friday 24 April 2015.

“It is, and always has been, about what is best for the Mangawhai Harbour and community as a whole and there appears to be a strong understanding in the community that doing nothing is not a logical option,” adds Mr Quinn. “The first question asked was ‘Should connection to the MCWWS be made mandatory or not’ and what we have heard so far is that there is strong community support for mandatory connection.”

Local groups have a say
The Advisory Panel members also met with a number of interested groups on the Thursday before the Open Day including the Mangawhai Domain Society, Mangawhai Riparian Planting Group, Fairy Tern Charitable Trust, Mangawhai Business Development Association, Mangawhai Holiday Park, Friends of Mangawhai Park, John Dickie and the Mangawhai Ratepayers and Residents Association (MRRA).

Several Groups also raised an issue with the Panel regarding extending the Scheme over the Estuary at Insley Street to a property on Black Swamp Road. As the Panel had no knowledge of this proposal, the Panel agreed to pass on to the Kaipara District Council (KDC) executive the community view on which line is not acceptable. This whole issue is now with KDC.

MRRA chair, Bruce Rogan, told Panel members that there were a number of properties incorrectly coded as being connected to the Scheme when they are not, or not connected when they were. The Panel has subsequently written to the Association asking for the addresses of around 10 to 20 of these properties. Mr Quinn says it is important that we can all rely on the accuracy of the figures the Council provides. He is suggesting an independent field-based audit of the addresses provided by the Association to understand how accurate Council’s figures are.

People want options
The Association also told Panel members that there are onsite wastewater treatment systems that are a viable option to the Mangawhai Community Wastewater Scheme. Panel members are keen to understand more about these systems and are sourcing information from various avenues as well as asking the Association to provide more information. Mr Quinn said it was all part of achieving a good balance of different viewpoints.

“We know that the Scheme treats wastewater to a high standard and that the treated water is disposed of so that it cannot enter the Mangawhai Harbour. We would be interested to know if there are stand-alone schemes that can provide the same level of service at a similar level of cost to property owners whilst providing an equal or better degree of protection to the Harbour. They must also not create any issues with neighbours regarding odour and runoff, especially during weather events.”

The Advisory Panel has undertaken to report their findings and identify preferred options based on the feedback they receive from the Mangawhai community to the Kaipara District Council’s May 2015 meeting.

n If you want to contact the Advisory Panel you can email the members on advisorypanel@kapara.govt.nz. Panel members from the community are D’Arcy Quinn, Belinda Vernon, Dr Gordon Hosking, Darryl Reardon, Dr Ian Greenwood and Peter Wethey.

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