Work needed on Edgecumbe sewerage system

Investigations into the state of the Edgecumbe sewerage system have revealed that significant amounts of work are required to repair the sewerage system. The Edgecumbe sewerage system has significant legacy issues associated with the 1987 earthquake, some of which have been made worse by the continued subsidence of the land in the area

Edgecumbe-Tarawera Community Board Chairman Graeme Smeaton says the investigations by the Council clearly show the level of damage to the system. The community is invited to a open day on Monday 24 November at the Riverslea Mall from 3pm to 06:30pm

‘We need to invest at least $3million to upgrade the system over the next 10 years, with over $1million required in the first year for urgent repair works. The Open Day is an opportunity for people to get first hand information about what we need to do’.

“The system modelling, smoke testing and CCTV camera footage have established the extent of the damage to the sewer system following the 1987 earthquake and help to explain the work required to restore the system”.
‘The Council has over the years committed a huge amount of money trying to maintain the sewer system and this is ad hoc approach should not continue. The Community Board wants the community to be involved in making the decision to invest in upgrading the entire system, rather than continue with the ad hoc work which will not address the core of the problem’, said Mr Smeaton.

He said over the next few months and as part of the LTCCP consultation process, the Community Board and the Council will be working together to finalise the details of the rehabilitation programme and consult with the Edgecumbe community on the priorities and the funding options.

There are some urgent works that will need to be done over the next two year to stabilise the system and address such issues as the overflow, infiltration and others that will require the community’s commitment to get the work done.

“It is not going to be cheap and it will cost money, thus means further rates increases over the next 10 years.”

Whakatane District Council Mr Colin Holmes said the Council will be looking for funding opportunities to support a significant portion of the capital expenditure.
“Let me stress that at this point we have only identified potential funding streams, but there is still a lot more work to be done before we can say whether we will be able to secure any funding.”