Palmerston North's Bruno Petrenas: Compliance requires massive amount of work

Palmerston North city councillor Bruno Petrenas says few people really appreciate the costs for ratepayers and developers infrastructural essentials involve. Photo / Palmerston North City Council

OPINION:

When it comes to city infrastructure, whether it's above or below ground, most people are either not really interested or somehow instant experts.

However, few really appreciate the considerable costs for ratepayers and developers that these infrastructural essentials involve - or even understand what it takes to keep Palmy operative.

Take the three waters - (fresh, waste and storm): the city has 548km of water mains, 405km of wastewater pipes and 290km of piped stormwater drains.

Management of these networks is determined by the council's asset management process that requires detailed analysis and investigation.

This has recently required the investment of $1.7 million into relining 1.2km of large diameter sewers to increase their lifespan by between 60 and 80 years.

Meanwhile, at the wastewater treatment plant, seismic strengthening work on two of the three sedimentation tanks has just been completed.

As for fresh water, infrastructure capital works relating to the city network include completion of the duplicate main providing supply resilience from the Turitea reservoir and treatment plant to the city.

The council is also commissioning and beginning the supply of water to the network from the Railway Rd bore.

For the latest reporting year – July 1, 2020 to June 31, 2021 - the council's drinking water assessor has confirmed all water supplies to the city, Ashhurst, Bunnythorpe and Longburn were 100 per cent compliant with New Zealand drinking water standards.

Achieving this full compliance, which in some instances requires measurements being taken every minute, requires a massive amount of work.

Regarding stormwater, the Department of Internal Affairs has put out a new proposed framework that recognises the complexity of the issue for land use planning and for funding. It clarifies which stormwater assets would be expected to become part of any new entity.

Evolving technology and a surge in city growth requires constant review and evaluation of our infrastructural challenges, while another significant area of work involves implementation of an asset management improvement plan.

Adding to the complexity are considerations around climate change and the impact significant flooding or protracted drought could have on our reservoir dam and water bores.

As central government proceeds with its Three Waters Reform proposals, the success of any new entity will not be determined by bucketloads of data, but by the competence, expertise and experience of the staff who monitor and manage these crucial systems.

• Bruno Petrenas is a Palmerston North city councillor.