HOME UNITS OKAYED AT BRIDGE POOL

Taupo Times, Volume 23, Issue 52, 2 July 1974, Page 1

HOME UNITS OKAYED AT BRIDGE POOL

The Taupo County Council has allowed an application for a specified departure so home units can be built 75 feet from the world famous Waitahanui River. During the hearing on Thursday, it was alleged the move would give "squatters rights" to a highly popular stretch of fishing water. The site overlooks the Bridge Pool, one of the most popular — and productive — on the rlver.

D. G. and W. Sutherland and W. G. Sutherland had sought permission to "build one house. and three homd units on two sections. But in a decision •announced last Friday, the council allowed only one dwelling on each of the two lots. The applicants will be required to build up the land on.the site to 1181 feet and to ensure that the septic tank outflow is as far as possible from - Lake Taupo and the Waitahanui River. This will have to be to the satisfaction of the county engineer. The council ruled that there must be a separate septic tank for each of the two houses, and deep rooted shrubs should be planted between the efflu--ent drain and the lake. Water supply bores are to be as far as possible from the septic drainage. At the hearing on Thursday, the president of the Waitahanui Angling Improvement Association,

Mr O. S. Hintz, said the building of home units would give the owners "squatters rights." "The proximity of these apartments to the river carries very real threats of angling pressure on what is already one of the most heavily fished pieces of water in the Taupo area," Mr Hintz told the council. He said the Waitahanui River was one of the most valuable recreational assets the county had, and any land in close proximity to the river should be zoned non-residential. His association, which had been in existence more than 25 years, was objecting to the application on the grounds that it would prove detrimental to angling interests. The hearing was a resumption of one which was adjourned in April, when new evidence was introduced by D. G. and W. Sutherland. There were five objections to the proposal —

concerned mainly with the danger to the lake and river water quality from septic tank effluent, and the traffic hazard in gaining access to the property. Mr T. J. Hibbitt appeared for the applicants. For the objectors, Mr D. W. Stephens represented the proprietors of the Shoreline Motel, Windsor Lodge Motel and Eagles' Fishing Lodge; Mr R. J. Sutherland appeared for tfye Ministry of Works and Development, which combined an objection with the Internal Affairs Department; Mr Hintz represented the Waitahanui Angling Improvement Association; and Mr B. Carlisle appeared for the Waikato Valley Authority. Mr S. M. Jones lodged an objection in writing, but did not appear. Appearing for the applicants, a civil engineer, Mr E. W. Sands, said their proposal was for two interconnecting units to be built on each of the two lots. He said the method of sewage treatment proposed was in accordance with acceptable standards recognised by the county. The matter in question was the discharge of the effluent. "This application has emphasised again the need for a fully reticulated

sewerage system at Waitahanui. "I would take this opportunity of urging every member of this council to support positive measures toward implementing a sewage scheme as soon as it is legally possible," Mr Sands said. This was necessary for the preservation of the lake from the effects of existing and future development. "Until such a scheme is implemented, consideration must be given to a suitable alternative method of sewage disposal for sites similar to the appli&ants," he said. Mr Sands considered the development would be better served by two septic tanks with distribution boxes and an intercohnected drainage system. The county' s planning officer, Mr P. Crawford, said the site was adjacent to, and part of, Lake Taupo' s shoreline and 75 feet from the Waitahanui River. In the departure, the applicants sought consent to the location and use of septic tanks within 150 feet from th& lake margin. "It is the explicit policy of council to reduce poten-

Home units okayed at Bridge Pool

tial eutrophication of the waters of Lake Taupo," he said. "While the applicants have existing rights, they are unable to meet the requirements of the code for discharge of septic tank drainage. Unless some suitable form of disposal of septic tank effluent was available, council could not consent to the issue of a permit to build. "Any concentration of septic tank effluent has a high probability of entering either the lake or river because of the nature of the soil and the concentration of septic tank effluent. "The advent of seepage and subsequent pollution of the river or lake would be contrary to the policy outlined in the district scheme and to the public interest. "It is, therefore, my opinion that the site, without a proper sewage treatment, is not suitable for the proposed use." Mr Crawford said it was unlikely there would be a

proper sewage treatmenl W for the Waitahanui comI munity in the immediate future. A proposed scheme was rejected at a poll oi ratepayers in the area in August, 1972. Mr Crawford stressed the importance of the Waitahanui River as a valuable spawning stream and an area of considerable fishing tradition "with more than local angling reputation." "As such, this would mark the area and the locality as being of particular local and regional recreation significance," he said. The proposed complex, which would provide 18 beds in all, was not subject to the Government's new building regulations. The application was lodged with council before the new regulations restricting building sizes were introduced. The county engineer, Mr J. W. Bull, said there was poor visibility to the north from the low level road which approached the property from State Highway I. But council was currently seeking National Roads Board approval to kerb the access road and move the entry point further south, assuring better visibility. Anglers already parked cars between the applicants' land and the Waitahanui stream, Mr Bull said. To meet the existing and future demand for parking, council was pro-

t posing to construct a 12-vehicle carpark. : While the proposed development would gene- ; rate traffic on the access ? road, it would be small i compared with traffic using the parking area, he said. Giving evidence on behalf of the Minister of Works and Development, Mr I. G. MacBean, a public health engineer, said continued development based on septic tanks in any situation was unsatisfactory from a public health point of view. . "But even more so in this particular situation, where the JResidential B zoning allows closer development with the increased risk to public health and also to the discharge of nutrients to the lake," he said. "It is also my opinion that development at Waitahanui should now be based on a suitable community sewage disposal scheme." Mr T. Hartley-Smith, a senior field officer of the Wildlife Service, Internal Affairs Department, warned of increased algae and weed growth from added nutrients to the river. The location of the Sutherland property was right beside the lower Waitahanui River — "Which is subject to the most intensive fishing pressure in New Zealand," he said. "Between the site and

the river is a one chain right-of-way and a parking area where, at the moment, cars park close to the water. However, it is proposed to amend the trout fishing regulations to prohibit wading in this stretch of water and cars would have to park further back to permit casting." Mr Hartley-Smith said enrichment of the surrounding area must take place from septic tank effluent and other domestic wastes. > The added nutrients to the river would certainly mean fishermen would have to contend with increased algae and weed growth. "This river system is important for spawning fish and if the water quality, which at present is very high, is allowed to deteriorate it could have a deleterious effect on the run of fish. Not only would this mean less fish for river anglers, but ultimately the boat fishermen as well," he said. "Schemes of this nature can only add to the general Cnrichment of the lake at a time when every avenue should be explored to try and improve the situation." Mr L. J. A. Gow, assistant planning officer in the M.W.D. Hamilton district office, said the applicants' proposal could only be permitted — as the district scheme now stood — if an effective sewage treatment and disposal system was employed. If council decided on a variation of the scheme then it must carefully consider the effects of its decision regarding the likelihood of increasing the flow of seepage of untreated effluent into the lake. "At the ilvery least the density of development, having no proper sewage treatment, must be kept as low as possible," he said. "At best, all development should require land based sewage treatment and dis-

posal of wastes in such a way that the lake waters are not affected. "As it stands at the moment the application is contrary to the public interest in that it perpetuates an undesirable means of sewage disposal likely to affect adversely a body of water which is of local, regional and even national importance from a recreational and holiday viewpoint." Appearing in support of the Waikato Valley Authority's objection, Mr Carlisle, an engineer, said siting septic tanks 200ft from the lake should be the "abso-

lute minimum." He claimed the council would be setting an undesirable precedent if the application was granted, and said *he was not in favour of any compromises. On behalf of the motel owners, Mr A. H. J. Penberthy expressed concern at the economic, environmental and pollution aspects of the application and the likely traffic hazard in the area. He said it would be contrary to the low density development in the area, which was all sited well away from the Waitahanui River — "one of the most

famous trout streams in the world." A! It was likely that the owners of the proposed units might not be permanent residents and would ( want to rent their places when they were not using them — to the economic disadvantage of the motels, Mr Penberthy said. Anglers in the area were "all up in arms" about the. - proposed development.