Riversdale residents likely to face $14,000 bill for sewage upgrade

Riversdale beach property owners are being urged to grit their teeth and help bear the cost of the $6.73 million sewerage scheme needed for the settlement.
The reality of having to face upwards of $14,000 a property for the recommended scheme being put to the residents by the Masterton District Council met little dissention at the special ratepayers meeting at the beach over Queen's Birthday weekend.
Chairman, councillor Rod McKenzie, estimated about 100 people listened "with interest" to the presentation, which outlined five years of investigation for the council to come to the point where a preferred scheme was now on the table.
The scheme involves each property either pumping or gravity feeding its sewage to a main line out on the street. This main line will be boosted by a series of small pumps all sending the sewage to a main pump at the southern reserve.
From there, it would be pumped 2.5km up to land owned by the Tatham family where a series of ponds will be constructed. The treated sewage would then be either dripped or sprayed on to farmland.
Special projects engineer Ian Steer says it would be the council's intention to purchase 15ha from the Tathams for easy of control and maintenance of the area.
He described the proposed system as "robust, affordable and environmentally acceptable."
Commenting on the cost per property, he felt owners had little choice.
"The regional council has indicated the area is contaminated and past acceptable limits with septic tank sewage treatment. The likelihood of anyone getting a resource consent in the future, even to upgrade their septic tank, is highly unlikely."
The pumps on the streets would be easily maintainable and households would have little issues to deal with themselves.
Mr McKenzie said he saw the benefit of this especially when so many houses were rented out as holiday accommodation.
But, coming up with a preferred scheme is only the start, he said. "Now we have the hard graft of finding the money."
The council has a funding task group, chaired by Derek Daniell, which will be looking into this. Members will be conferring with the Riversdale Beach steering group.
Once a funding proposal has been put together, the entire concept will be presented to the public for comment.
This will begin early August and hearings are expected to be held in November around the same time as land purchase negotiations begin.
It's hoped the tendering of the physical works will occur next May and the scheme operational by mid winter of 2008.