By WAYNE THOMPSON
Stop talking, get on with the job and clean up the beaches - North Shore residents gave their city councillors that clear message last March.
The residents had been surveyed by Project Care, a council team that spent three years fixing serious problems with the sewer network and researching
how to service a city of 190,000 tipped to grow to 240,000 within 15 years.
By January, the team was ready to seek council and public backing for a 20-year works programme that would improve beach water quality 65 per cent.
Overflows of raw sewage on to streets, beaches and streams would be cut from an average 12 times a year to twice.
The cost of achieving this was estimated at $250 million over the 20 years.
This would increase the average household sewerage rate during the next decade from $381 to $740.
The survey sought public reaction, although councillors had already felt the anger when people went to beaches for a swim and found them closed as a health precaution.
Residents were asked: How much more are you willing to pay for more swimming days at the beach?
The result was 53 per cent support for the 65 per cent improvement over two decades.
Only 6.5 per cent wanted greater improvement and 15 per cent wanted it done faster.
Strong opposition was expressed to the cost of the sewerage being loaded on top of general rates.
About 23 per cent called for money to be diverted from what they called non-essentials, including new pools and libraries.
Many residents called for a halt to new housing subdivisions until sewer network capacity was boosted.
Councillors voted for the Project Care recommendations in June without dissent.
Fortified by the public will for action, they chose a programme that promised the most improvements for the least money.
Cleaning up the beaches was the lightning rod issue of the last election. This time, voters are judging how wisely the council has chosen to fulfil their high expectations.
Feature: Local body elections 2001
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