Christchurch and Waimakariri councils collaborate on ocean outfall
25 March 2003
A joint statement from Mayor Garry Moore of Christchurch and Mayor Jim
Gerard of Waimakariri.
Christchurch and Waimakariri councils are
working together towards wastewater disposal solutions, as each
organisation plans its own
ocean outfall.
Waimakariri Mayor Jim Gerard says that the two councils
have had ongoing dialogue as they work through the best way to
deal with their districts’ effluent. “The
staff involved meet from time to time to share information, and
it’s
a real positive that both councils employ the same consultant,
URS New Zealand,” says
Mr Gerard.
Christchurch Mayor Garry Moore says that among the activities
where the councils are collaborating is the sharing of ocean current,
wind, wave and seabed data, along with information on marine ecology.
During
their respective consultations with the public, questions have
been raised about the amount of coordination between the two
adjacent councils, and why there is not just one outfall to serve
both districts. The main reasons for separate outfalls are the
high cost of building
pipelines
and pumping stations to transfer wastewater from one area to the
other, and the different timeframes (dictated by the Resource Management
Act) that
the two councils are working to. These mean that a single, shared
outfall is not a practicable option.
Jim Gerard says that the $31
million cost of the Waimakariri upgrade and outfall scheme is a
severe burden for his ratepayers who could
not afford the estimated extra $12 million capital cost for a shared
outfall. “Added
to this is the fact that the Waimakariri
District Council has to
meet pressing commitments and consent requirements to have the
Rangiora effluent out of
the Cam River by July 2006, while the Christchurch outfall won’t be
ready for a least another two years after that, all going well,” says
Mr Gerard.
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