Whanganui Chronicle
  • Whanganui Chronicle home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Taranaki
  • National Park
  • Whakapapa
  • Ohakune
  • Raetihi
  • Taihape
  • Marton
  • Feilding
  • Palmerston North

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • New Plymouth
  • Whanganui
  • Palmertson North
  • Levin

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Whanganui Chronicle

Plan 'could save millions'

By John Maslin
Whanganui Chronicle·
26 Jun, 2016 08:28 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

THE Whanganui District Council has been urged to seriously consider an industry-promoted alternative to its $42 million wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), because its supporters claim the option could save the city millions in build and operational costs.

Whanganui businessman Neville Johnson said the alternative plant would cost $18 million, could be built in a year and cost $1 million annually to operate.

Mr Johnson has extrapolated figures of running the WWTP and said they highlighted the huge discrepancy in running costs between an $18 million plant and a $42 million one.

He said running costs for the cheaper plant (over 25 years) would total $25 million while the council's favoured option would total $175 million.

Mr Johnson said he became embroiled in the WWTP debate because an inter-island ferry service he has been working on would tap into local industries such as Affco as a major commercial customer. He's the sole director of Midwest Ferries, a company he set up some years ago with a view to starting an inter-island service between Whanganui and Motueka.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"As part of my ongoing discussions with the Talley group in Motueka, I became involved in the ongoing problems that company was having with the district council over their proposed new wastewater treatment scheme."

He was one of the signatories to the open letter to the council published in the Chronicle earlier this month. Like the others, he was alarmed at the cost of the new plant, as well as the annual operating costs of around $7 million.

Mr Johnson said he contacted Talleys' expert who said building the plant to his plan would take only a year, as compared with three years for the council option designed by Cardno BTO.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"This alternative plan would use the existing lagoon and cover it with a membrane to arrest odour, it wouldn't require any aerators because aeration wasn't needed with this design. And there'd be no need to dispose of any sludge for at least four years.

"If the council adopted this alternative, then I know all the wet industries would continue to use this system at an affordable price both for them and certainly the ratepayers.

"At a meeting on June 10, we presented new council chief executive officer Kym Fell with this design option. When he asked 'How long do we keep looking at alternative proposals?' I suggested the answer was until the council finds the best solution."

Mr Johnson said the council was being urged not to sign up to the Cardno design until they've had an urgent presentation from the Talleys group's consultant.

"Talleys have used this consultant for the last 15 years at all their wastewater plants and he's never let them down."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui Chronicle

Earthquakes every six to seven minutes detected under Mt Ruapehu

08 Jul 10:48 PM
Whanganui Chronicle

'Serious shortcomings' in pilot academy management and systems - authority

08 Jul 06:00 PM
Whanganui Chronicle

Health NZ stops funds for Fit for Surgery programme

08 Jul 05:01 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Earthquakes every six to seven minutes detected under Mt Ruapehu

Earthquakes every six to seven minutes detected under Mt Ruapehu

08 Jul 10:48 PM

Volcanic tremor remains low; Mt Ruapehu is at Volcanic Alert Level 1.

'Serious shortcomings' in pilot academy management and systems - authority

'Serious shortcomings' in pilot academy management and systems - authority

08 Jul 06:00 PM
Health NZ stops funds for Fit for Surgery programme

Health NZ stops funds for Fit for Surgery programme

08 Jul 05:01 PM
'The truth will come out': Scott Guy's parents speak 15 years after unsolved murder

'The truth will come out': Scott Guy's parents speak 15 years after unsolved murder

08 Jul 09:03 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Whanganui Chronicle e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Whanganui Chronicle
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP