Council makes late effort for Y2K

By Tony Gee

KAIKOHE - A special squad has been formed by the Far North District Council in a late effort to prepare contingency plans should district water and sewage systems fail as the new millennium begins.

The council was one of seven local authorities which failed to respond to a nationwide Local Government New Zealand survey of councils on the state of their Y2K readiness.

Although most of the country's 86 territorial authorities are expected to be ready for the millennium, the report's authors were worried that 14 per cent would not be until the last quarter of this year.

In the Far North, little or no action appears to have been taken up to now after a report more than two months ago showed sewage and water-pumping monitoring systems were not Y2K compliant.

The February 11 report, from the council's information and finance manager, Ian Bell, said staff were aware the Far North's telemetry monitoring systems at sewage and water-pump stations scattered around the district did not meet Y2K standards.

Pump-dependent sewage, water and possibly rural drainage systems could fail in the event of interrupted power supply and computers would not warn of problems.

The millennium bug exists in computers that are built to see each year as two digits. They are likely to be confused when the year 99 becomes 00.

Mr Bell's report identified a potential high risk of telemetry monitoring system failure, and potentially high public health risks from treatment plants where there was computerised dosing of chemicals, unless money was found to upgrade the telemetry system.

The council was advised to have its service contractor's work teams on standby to fix any sewage and water failure problems.

Mayor Yvonne Sharp said the council did not respond to the Local Government NZ survey of Y2K readiness because it had come when council staff were busy handling the devastating Hokianga floods.

The issue of contingency planning to meet potential problems is now in the hands of the new acting general manager, Larry Jacobson, and is being treated with urgency.

Mr Jacobson said last week that a six-member Y2K project group, comprising key council staff, contractors' representatives and civil defence, was being set up to work through issues involved.

Plans to meet potential Y2K problems wouldl cover six months, from September this year. Continuity of power supply was a concern but priority was being given to contingency plans for sewage and water-pump stations.

Mr Jacobson said sewage-pump stations had only a limited holding capacity and backup or auxiliary power generation would be needed if there was a widespread power failure.

Hiring pumps and generators might be necessary, although he acknowledged suppliers' Y2K capacity for hire of such equipment was already stretched.

A report on progress will be made to next month's full council meeting.