Rotorua Lakes Council deliberated about what level of funding should be funnelled to the Tarawera sewerage scheme. Photo / NMZE
Rotorua Lakes Council deliberated about what level of funding should be funnelled to the Tarawera sewerage scheme. Photo / NMZE
The price Lake Tarawera home owners will pay for reticulated sewerage has been reduced – but it’s not the significant cut many hoped for.
The most recent estimate had Tarawera households collectively paying about $20 million of the $32.3m cost for the Tarawera Sewerage Scheme.
That was equivalent to alump sum of $49,383 each.
On Wednesday, Rotorua Lakes Council voted to move $1.1m of the cost to Rotorua ratepayers, lowering the lump sum by thousands of dollars – but nowhere near the $36,600 cap some in Tarawera wanted.
Final figures have not been released yet, but earlier estimates based on moving $1m put the lump sum at $46,564 for Tarawera households, and added $2.80 a year to general ratepayers’ bills.
The $1.1m reflected increased costs for the project arising from Lake Rotokākahi pipeline construction protests.
The council confirmed 408 properties were expected to connect to the scheme in stage two, down from an earlier estimate of 446.
Councillors also agreed that owners who agreed to scheme works on their properties by June 25 would receive a reduction of $5727 in their bills. As of Wednesday, 72 such “locality plans” had been signed.
Several councillors pushed for a funding arrangement that capped the lump sum at $36,600, as sought by some Tarawera residents.
This “option four” failed, despite a warning from councillors that they could face a judicial review.
Robert Lee supported option four.
He questioned whether the project cost-benefit analysis was completed “properly”, and said he did not “buy the assurances” from the Bay of Plenty Regional Council that the scheme would improve Lake Tarawera water quality.
He was disappointed by the regional council’s contribution - a $750,000 grant – and noted the “extraordinary” amount Tarawera residents would need to pay.
Karen Barker also supported option four. She said regional council and central government funding portions did not match previous schemes.
She said Rotorua Lakes Council asked for a $3.85m grant from the regional council, but instead it voted to loan that amount over four years, in addition to its existing grant.
Lakes council chief executive Andrew Moraes said the loan terms were “at best, worse” than it could get from the Local Government Funding Agency.
Barker viewed option four as the best to enable delivery certainty, for locality plans to be signed. She also said it was closest to the 50% community contribution other sewerage schemes had received.
Rotorua rural ward councillor Karen Barker. Photo / Laura Smith
She expected more costs from delays and court action if the council did not work with the Tarawera community, but also noted the cost to the wider community and wanted this to be offset somehow.
Conan O’Brien questioned whether there was proof that option four would “alleviate” concerns of a judicial review, as some in Tarawera believed $36,600 was still too high.
O’Brien said the scheme was “forced” on Tarawera residents as the only feasible way to follow new rules introduced by the regional council.
He reminded colleagues they had already increased the scheme subsidy from $1500 to $2700 per property, put in $2.05m of Better Off funding and increased the repayment period from 10 years to 25.
He did not support option four “at this time” and said a new regional council cohort could “open up dialogue” after the election.
Don Paterson was concerned about how divisive the topic had been.
“How many people have we put through this stressful period unnecessarily because of poor decision-making way back when?”
Councillor Don Paterson in a March 2025 meeting. Photo / Laura Smith
Paterson and Lee both noted the previous district council had decided to advance the scheme in secret.
“The problem with that was the decision was made without it being fully funded,” Paterson said.
He called it poor governance and said it opened the door to issues with mana whenua.
Some Tarawera home owners were already paying up to $12,000 a year in rates, and he questioned whether it was fair to add to this.
He agreed the council should look to find savings. He said that, under option four, the wider ratepayer contribution was a “great investment” at about a dollar a month each.
Mayor Tania Tapsell supported using an extra $1.1m of wider ratepayer funding to cover costs associated with the Rotokākahi protests.
Lowering the lump sum further would support Tarawera home owners – “of which the majority are holiday homes” – but many in the wider community struggled to afford rent and food, never mind the petrol to visit Lake Tarawera, she said.
She had “made a commitment to stop the spend”.
The council made efforts to find other funding for the scheme, including using the Better Off funding and asking the regional council.
“They should have said yes. If not to a grant, then to a loan over 10 years.”
“I do look forward to the day mana whenua can return to that land, can have reticulated sewerage ...”
The council would continue to look for additional funding, and would circulate final costs as soon as possible.
In the final vote on funding, councillors Barker, Paterson and Lee voted against the successful option.
The Annual Plan 2025-26 is set to be adopted on June 25.
Laura Smith is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based at the Rotorua Daily Post. She previously reported general news for the Otago Daily Times and Southland Express, and has been a journalist since 2019.
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
