Waste water scheme consultation 'inadequate'

Niki Gladding

Opponents of a wastewater scheme proposed for Glenorchy have complained to the Office of the Auditor-general that property owners have not been properly consulted.

Sustainable Glenorchy spokeswoman Niki Gladding says the incorporated society lodged a complaint in March that the Queenstown Lakes District Council allocated $6 million for the scheme in its 2015 10-year plan without properly informing the community.

"For a $6million-plus proposal that will cost ratepayers between $23,000 and $30,000, and perhaps a whole lot more given that any overruns will be paid for by the community, we thought the consultation was inadequate.''

The consultation document accompanying the 10-year plan mentioned the proposal only in one line of small print, Ms Gladding said.

"We literally weren't aware we had been given an opportunity to have our say.'' Council property and infrastructure general manager Pete Hansby confirmed the Office of the Auditor-general had contacted the council about the complaint on June 7.

It asked for information on how the council engaged with the Glenorchy community about the scheme before it was included in the 2015 10-year plan.

Ms Gladding said it was "intriguing'' the council had issued a media statement about the wastewater scheme so soon after being contacted by the Office of the Auditor-general.

In the media statement, issued last Friday, council chief engineer Ulrich Glasner said it would "seek input'' from Glenorchy residents about the scheme and it would be considered in next year's 10-year plan process.

The township's population was increasing, existing treatment systems were "no longer fit for purpose'' and there was a risk of the area's waterways being contaminated, Mr Glasner said.

The council was gathering information on the systems in use in the township and how many complied with wastewater standards, and was preparing to investigate whether any contamination was occurring. It had identified the township's airfield as the most suitable site for a treatment facility.

The council expected to report back to the community in late August with a cost estimate for the scheme and an indicative timeframe for lodging a resource consent, he said.

Glenorchy Community Association chairman John Glover said the council had yet to produce evidence showing a reticulated system was the best solution.

At a workshop run by Sustainable Glenorchy in April, council and Otago Regional Council (ORC) representatives were asked to provide "baseline'' information such as evidence of contamination and what new standards were likely to come out of an ORC review of its water quality strategy, Mr Glover said.

Whatever scheme was adopted had to be in line with the community's "vision and values'', as espoused at a Shaping Our Future Forum in the township last year.