Napier chlorine debate: City council puts high priority on public say

Napier deputy mayor Annette Brosnan, who seconded the resolution supporting the report in the council's chlorine-free water review. Photo / File

The Napier City Council has voted to continue with its chlorine-free review after the tabling of a report at its Sustainable Napier Committee meeting on Thursday.

The council awaits a report peer review which was by the full-council committee chaired by Cr Keith Price. It is due to be completed this month and the issue will be double-debated by the council and put out for public consultation.

The council is placing a high priority on taking the public on what councillors referred to as "the journey" towards ending the dirty-water issues that have blighted several parts of the city drinking-water supply. The solution could include replacing upwards of a third of the city's 450-plus kilometres of piping.

Councillors were told some areas did not have the brown-water issues - and in some cases where people had brown-water issues, neighbours did not.

Shutdowns of two bores during last winter had resulted in a significant decrease in the number of complaints, which surged again when the bores had to be used over the summer.

Councillors were told by staff the clean water source does exist, but has to be found first. Test drilling for a possible new bore at Pukekura Reserve, off Sandy Rd, Meeanee, had not been as successful as hoped and the search for better sources continues.

The council has been told a return to chlorine-free water, with chlorine having been introduced after E. coli finds in the pipes in 2017, could take 20 years and cost up to $300 million. Mayor Kirsten Wise and deputy Annette Brosnan moved the resolution accepting the report, and in doing so outlined some options and emphasised the need for the public to help decide the pathway.

Two members of the public spoke to the meeting, with clean-water campaigner Pauline Doyle saying her "heart dropped" when she heard of the report and the possible cost and timeframe, and she said she believed it should take no more than 2-3 years.