Pressure testing set to start on new Reefton waterline
From local democracy reporter Lois Williams:
Pressure testing is set to start this week in Reefton on the new water pipeline on Buller Rd.
Contractors Tru-Line Civil have been replacing the old asbestos cement pipe between Potter St and Elizabeth St over summer, as part of a $1.2 million upgrade of the town's water supply.
Buller District Council infrastructure manager Eric de Boer says the old pipe was removed in sections as the new pipe segments were laid and connected, to avoid major disruptions to household water supplies.
"So far there's only been one shutdown a few weeks ago, and the pressure testing should not affect residents."
The new line could cope with the high pressures within the network, and would mean less maintenance and reduced water loss down Buller Road, De Boer said.
Once the testing was completed the rest of the pipeline trench would be backfilled and sealed.
"We will need to check for leaks and disinfect the new pipeline before it's fully switched over and connected back into the existing network "
The Buller Road pipe replacement is just one part of the project to improve the safety and resilience of Reefton's ageing water infrastructure.
The town of 900 has been on a precautionary 'boil water' notice since last summer when testing showed high coliform counts in the water supply.
The century-old cast iron pipe that delivered water to and from the town reservoir is being replaced with two new pipes, a rising main and a falling main. And the reservoir itself is being assessed, with the aim of eliminating the risk of contamination from insects, rats and mice.
Reefton residents, through the Inangahua Community Board, strongly opposed one feature of the project - a chlorination plant - to be turned on once the pipework is complete.
The town's water comes from a bore under the Inangahua River bed, and locals argued chlorination should be postponed until it was known if the new pipework solved the problem of intermittent contamination.
The council agreed to chlorinate only after it came under heavy pressure from the water regulator, Canterbury District Health Board.
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Flood and coastal protection at stake through West Coast meetings
By local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
Members of special rating districts up and down the West Coast should attend their annual meetings, elected representatives say.
The West Coast Regional Council is holding a round of annual meetings in the next month for each of the two dozen special rating areas it administers on behalf of local ratepayers for flood or coastal protection assets.
Council chairperson Peter Haddock said ratepayers within each special rating district give the mandate to the annual asset maintenance budget presented by council, and the consequent levy above their general rates.
That was why it was so important for people to attend their annual local rating district meeting to tell council what they wanted, he said.
"It's the people that make the decision on what their budget is for the year. That's the reason they should attend," Haddock said.
Nearly 75% of West Coast residents are affected by one of 22 special rating districts dotted up and down the 650km long region.
They are mainly for small rural or farming communities but include the three main towns and the tourist hotspots like Punakaiki and Franz Josef.
As the council's rating mess emerged in late 2023 some ratepayers such as the Greymouth floodwall area were shocked to find substantial special rating increases.
CHaddock said in the end rating district members had a significant say.
"The regional council run the programme for the rating district members - it is important people turnup, so they can have their say."
The reserves held ensured money in the pot when unforeseen events such as storm damage came up.
Haddock said this was demonstrable at Punakaiki following a battering 10 days ago of its coastal defences and the annual meeting there last week demonstrated "good conversations" to be realistic.
"There was varying people from commercial operators down to people with holiday homes.
"Everyone is concerned. They know that if they don't continue to maintain the walls, it could fall behind and then they are up for a big bill."
The Karamea meeting saw about 50 show up but many had a false impression for the meeting.
"I think they thought it was (for) the long-term plan submissions rather than the rating district."
A private landfill and the use of 1080 were among unrelated issues brought up.
"A lot of people, I think, don't realise what the regional council does," Haddock said.
Council deputy chairperson Brett Cummings said it was obvious a lot of attendees at the Karamea meeting came to raise other issues -- in itself not a bad thing.
"They thought it was a meeting about rates. A lot of people didn't understand what a rating district is, and they possibly should … there's a lot of confusion."
Cummings said the issues at the heart of the purpose of rating districts -- flood and inundation -- were only going to escalate for them.
"The amounts are getting bigger because the problems are getting bigger … I think a lot of them are beginning to understand we are not spending (the rating district) money ourselves."
Cummings said some meetings also exposed a gulf between the priorities of local landowners and those who did not live in the district but had an interest.
An example was the recent Kongahu meeting where the locals were "all for" addressing an outbreak of the listed water weed Parrots feather in the area but with an absentee landowner
haggling over that priority, he said.
At the same time, the council had a big job ahead of it with the first formal meeting in May of the new Franz Josef/Waiho joint rating district, where council had been "through a torrid time," after years of no meetings for the locals to have their say.
Poll: Does the building consent process need to change?
We definitely need homes that are fit to live in but there are often frustrations when it comes to getting consent to modify your own home.
Do you think changes need made to the current process for building consent? Share your thoughts below.
Type 'Not For Print' if you wish your comments to be excluded from the Conversations column of your local paper.
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91.8% Yes
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7.7% No
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0.5% Other - I'll share below!
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