Far North Council buys land for new Rāwene wastewater treatment site

Plans to discharge wastewater to land instead of the Hokianga Harbour have taken a significant step forward with the purchase of a 10-hectare block of land in Rāwene. Photo / FNDC

A long-running effort to keep Rāwene’s wastewater out of the Hokianga Harbour has taken a major step forward with the Far North District Council’s purchase of land to develop a new treatment site.

The council has announced the purchase of a 10ha block of land in Rāwene. The block of land officially purchased today includes 7.5ha of pine forest and is located on Rāwene Rd near the existing wastewater ponds. It is adjacent to a 2ha block bought by the council last year.

A working group for the Rāwene Wastewater Treatment-Transformation Project was formed after 2013 when an Environment Court mediation required the council to work with hapū-led community liaison group Te Mauri o Te Wai to find appropriate wastewater solutions and a different location for the treatment of wastewater.

For more than 16 years local hapū have pushed for Rāwene’s wastewater system to be moved off Te Raupo.

Te Mauri o Te Wai (TMoTW) has been working for decades on ways to improve the taiao, including an estimated 16 years seeking to move the Rāwene wastewater treatment system from its Te Raupo site.

Te Raupo has always been a significant place for Ngāti Hau, Ngāti Kaharau and other Hokianga hapū, and as such is not seen as an appropriate site for human waste disposal.

TMoTW includes representatives of Ngāti Hau, Ngāti Kaharau, Te Hikutu, Te Mahurehure, Ngāi Tupoto and the Rāwene community.

A representative of the working group, Dallas King, said the group was pleased and relieved at the outcome.

“This is a step towards our goal of zero human waste to wai. It is cost-effective and demonstrates the benefit of relationships that respect Te Tiriti o Waitangi, hapū and communities. The imposition of a wastewater treatment system located on Te Raupō and discharging into the Ōmanaia awa is something local hapū have endured for far too long.”

“The working group will continue to engage with those living near the site and is focused on identifying agreeable solutions by working together.”

In 2022, the council was granted “Better Off” funding by the Government to work with TMoTW to investigate an alternative location for sewage treatment for Rāwene. This funding has helped minimise the impact of the transformation project on ratepayers.

The budget for the land purchase was approved in the Long Term Plan.