First 1991 WCB meeting, Water's on the agenda

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 8, Issue 372, 5 February 1991, Page 1

First 1991 WCB meeting, Water's on the agenda

Waimarino Community Board's first meeting for 1991 is scheduled for Thursday night this week and on the agenda is an item, "Progress Report" which is the presentation of an update on a number of items concerning the board, from the General Manager of the council. Top of the list in the "Progress Report" is an update on the Ohakune Water Supply, with the General Manager stating that he will be recommending to council that tenders be called for both the ultra-violet and chlorination water treatment options. In his report he said in order to keep the options open it was possible to call for tenders on both systems and then make a final decision on the actual tendered costs. In his report the General Manager said the

discovery of giardia in the supply had complicated the design of the new system. Research shows coagulation and

filtration has to be very reliable to ensure the complete removal of giardia cysts and that imTurn page 2

Waimarino agenda

From page 1 perfect filtration can result in substantial filter 'breakthrough' allowing cysts to be washed through into the reticulation, said the report. "The decision to opt for ultra violet disinfection will compound the difficulties even further because a break through of the flocculation blanket will cloud the water reducing the effectiveness of the UV disinfection," he said in his report. "The nett results of this are: that the cost of filtration will be more than originally estimated; further tests will have to be carried out; the capital cost difference between chlorination and ultra violet disinfection is likely to be accentuated; the contract for construction o£. the works will require that the contractor makes some guarantees as to the performance of the plant. Because of the added complications the contractor may add a "risk" factor into his costs and this will probably be greater for ultra violet than chlorination," stated the report. Other items Other items in the

progress report are; Pipiriki street lighting; Ruatiti road bridge; upgrading of State Highway 49A at Ohakune/Ayr Street; and Ruatiti Airstrip. Also on the agenda for Thursday's meeting is a presentation by Gary Towler from the Community Employment Development Unit; presentation of a report on the subdivision at Rail- . way Row, Ohakune which points out the costs of the road staying a through road versus becoming a cul-de-sac when the subdivision is completed; a report on the upgrading of street lighting in Ohakune pointing out the option of deferring the project but applying for a safety improvement subsidy; a request from two ratepayers for maintenance of roads; presentation of a report on derelict buildings; preparation of budget submission. Election review The penultimate item is a report on a future review of the basis of election and constitution of communities, which aims to "highlight the issues and give time for their

consideration". In the report the general manager points out that the council has a choice whether to have a ward system of election and the procedure for reviewing the system. He states: "It is apparent that the present distribution of the representation between wards does not meet the criteria as set out...", which is "the population of each ward divided by the number of members to be elected by it shall produce a figure of no more than 10 per cent greater or smaller than the population of the ditftrict divided by the total number of members (other than the mayor). The populations of the wards as at last census were: Ohura, 2120; Taumarunui, 8065; National Park, 1605; Waimarino, 4182; Waiouru, 3489. Under these guidelines Waimarino at present has the right number of representatives, Waiouru and Taumarunui have too few, and Ohura and National Park have too many. Waiouru would need an extra half a representative for the distribution to fit and Taumarunui would need another four fifths of a representative.