Wastewater pipe proposal under Clive River withdrawn amid opposition

The plans involved drilling a wastewater pipe under the Clive River. Inset is Kohupātiki Marae board chairman Jason Whaitiri. Photo / NZME

A wastewater pipe that was proposed to run underneath the Clive River will no longer go ahead, following opposition to the plans.

The wastewater project was designed to service Kohupātiki Marae and about 65 existing and proposed papakāinga houses in the Kohupātiki area, on the northern side of the river.

Hastings District Council and the marae community worked together on the plans, which received consent from Hawke’s Bay Regional Council last year.

Some funding from the Government was also secured for the project.

The plan included drilling a wastewater main under Te Awa o Mokotūāraro (Clive River) to join up with an existing council wastewater network at Whakatu’s Essex Crescent Reserve, on the southern side of the river.

The pipeline would have been “up to 12 metres” below the riverbed, a planning document read.

However, strong opposition to the plan was made public in May, including community concern about protecting the awa (river).

The area where the wastewater pipeline was planned. Photo / HDC

Last week, a decision was made during a community meeting at the marae not to proceed with the wastewater project.

Kohupātiki Marae board chairman Jason Whaitiri said it was a big turnout at the meeting.

“I made the decision, and rightly so, to say no.

“And why I said no is because [some of the neighbouring landowners] were not consulted.”

He said he was mindful that aspect could lead to legal ramifications in future if the project went ahead.

“Now we are in a position where we will have to find alternatives,” he said.

“We just have to look into different avenues in terms of how we treat our waste.”

Whaitiri has been the marae board chairman for less than a year, and was not part of the initial proposal.

He said the marae and existing housing in the area were largely on septic tanks.

Whaitiri said it did not mean proposed papakāinga housing would be stopped in future.

“There is no stopping the whānau building their homes there.

“Everyone is not against papakāinga, everyone is for it.

“[The pipeline] just didn’t sit comfortable with the whānau, and I had no qualms for saying no because two of the [neighbouring] private landowners were not consulted.”

Hastings District Council chief executive Nigel Bickle said they had been notified of the marae trustees’ decision.

The council would now withdraw its “contractual arrangements” for the project and “the funding will be used on other wastewater infrastructure projects”, Bickle said.

He said alternative connection options were considered as part of the planning phase, but the costs “fell well outside” the available funding.

“Any development on the site will now most likely require on-site treatment.”

Bickle said the project was designed to enable the building of papakāinga on land adjacent to Kohupātiki Marae.

“It would also have provided the marae with reticulated sewerage.

“The project, funded in part by Government, aligned with council’s Hastings Place-Based Housing Strategy, which included supporting papakāinga development.

“The project has been in planning with the marae for three years.

“The preparatory work included a cultural impact assessment prepared with the marae community, and marae trustees supported the approach to Government for funding.”

The consent process was non-notified (meaning it was not open to public submissions).

Papakāinga refers to housing built on Māori ancestral land.

Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke’s Bay-based reporter who covers a range of news topics including business, councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He formerly worked at News Corp Australia.