$10m bill to clean up Tararua's water network

Water and waste water upgrades to the Tararua district will total $10 million over the next decade to comply with new water drinking standards and regulations to release treated sewage into waterways such as the Manawatu River.

A majority of the work on improving the assets would begin over the next three years, as outlined in the recently released Tararua District Council long term plan.

The plan said sewage discharge from Dannevirke was the single largest contributor of phosphorus to the upper Manawatu River at low flows and the council was not able to company with current consent conditions.

"Problems with meeting discharge conditions also exist in Pahiatua, Woodville, Norsewood and Ormondville," the plan said.

Tararua Mayor Roly Ellis said upgrading waste water and drinking water systems was one of the major issues he had been faced with since coming into the job 19 months ago.

He said the council was a signatory to the Manawatu River Accord with the Horizons Regional Council and it was keen to "clean up our position on the river".

"We are in talks with Horizons and iwi, and we're keen to do as much as we can," Mr Ellis said.

The district's waste water plants were built to "standards of their day", the plan said, but those standards had been increased, particularly when it came to the quality of treated effluent allowed into waterways.

The council and Horizons were also looking at a move to land-based sewage discharge during low river flow periods, generally over summer, as an option to reduce sewage into rivers.

In total, the council had eight projects lined up to improve the quality of waste water discharge at a cost of $7.56 million, with the possibility of a $2 million subsidy.

The upgrades to waste water systems were a must as the council could be taken to court if it did not meet consent conditions.

Upgrading urban public water supply was also prominent on the council's radar. Water supplies in Dannevirke, Pahiatua, Woodville and Eketahuna had been improved this financial year to meet new drinking water standards set by the Government in 2008.

Work would now begin on increasing water storage in larger towns to meet demand during dry spells and for firefighting emergencies. There were seven projects, to the tune of $2.66 million.

Mr Ellis said the council was also nearing completion of a $1.6 million recycling station in Dannevirke.

"It will control all of our needs in terms of recycling, green waste, commercial waste, and things like fridges and batteries," Mr Ellis said.

"There will also be a recycling depot at Pahiatua and we're looking at how we can meet the recycling needs of all our other towns," he said.