Temporary sewage plant approved

Taupo Times, Volume 23, Issue 56, 16 July 1974, Page 1

Temporary sewage plant approved

The Taupo County Council has approved its own conditional use appiication to ailow a temporary package sewage treatment plant at Acacia Bay. Several conditions have been placed on the consent, however. The appiication was the subject of a town planning hearing in Taupo last week, during which six objections from ratepayers were heard. Most of the objections concerned the site chosen for the plant — near a shop in the Golden Groves subdivision. The council released its decision on Friday afternoon. The appiication was granted subject to the following conditions: • That the plant be owned

and operated by the council, to ensure efficient operation at all times. • That planting and screening of the site be undertaken along with the establishment of the plant. • That the adjoining residential section be vested in the council as a recreational reserve. • That another recreational reserve be provided adjacent to the plant on the northern boundary on subdivision of the Rangatira B block. • That the cost of operation and maintenance of the plant be met from the proceeds of a special rating area over those properties served. • That within three months of the appiication being approved the council prepare a scheme for sewerage reticulation of Golden Groves stage one subdivision and present it to the owners for their consideration. • That 100 per cent stand-

by plant and facilities be installed and maintained at all times. • That the plant be an interim measure until a comprehensive sewage disposal scheme for Acacia Bay is implemented. • That the number of connections served by the plant be limited to 600. • That all plant and build- - ings be removed once the plant is not needed, and that tanks, etc., be buried not less than three feet below ground level. • That the treatment plant site revert to reserve when the plant is no longer required. Sewerage reticulation at Acacia Bay would be an important step toward protecting the quality of Lake Taupo waters, the Taupo county's town planning officer, Mr P. Crawford, told the county council last week. He Was giving evidence at a town planning hearing

before the council. In his evidence, Mr Crawford said he was concerned that the plant should be located near a busy shop, in an area zoned for a shopping centre. "The proposed plant is about 120 feet from the shopping centre, and the Ministry of Works and Development states that such plants sh'ould be located at least 100 feet from residential sites," he said. "While the Minister gives no reference to distances as they relate to other forms of land use, it is noted that similar plants in Taupo are used in proximity to large numbers of people and near food, in an environment where hygiene is important. "My particular concern relates to what would happen if a plant breaks down. _

Temporary sewage plant approved at Acacia Bay

"Standby facilities should be required as a condition of approval. "I believe the capacity of the plant should be related to the site and another condition of approval should relate to the servicing of a fixed number of residential sites." Mr Crawford said the site for the proposed plant was opposite Alberta Street, in an area zoned Residential B. Special conditions proposed by the applicant were council ownership and operation of the plant, screening of buildings and operations, temporary utilisation of the land for sewage treatment and landscaping and fencing of the site. In hearing its own application, he said, the council should consider the suitability of the site and the likely effect of the plant on the existing and foreseeable future amenities of the neighbourhood, and on the health, safety, convenience and the economic and general welfare of the inhabitants of the district. Although public utilities were permitted uses in a residential zone, such uses were permitted subject to conditions. The application was unusual. Unlike most planning situations, the council was both applicant and arbitrator, and the siting of package sewage treatment plants was a significant matter in both Acacia Bay and the Taupo basin.

"The essence of this problem relates to balancing the public gain through the use of a public utility such as a sewage plant against the effect upon the amenity of the neighbourhood, and the individuals there," said Mr Crawford. "The significance of this application is that it will be the first attempt at sewage treatment in the Acacia Bay area. "Until now, lots of 20.2 perches and larger, both near and further back from the lake, have been serviced by septic tanks. No form of treatment, apart from settling and septic bacterial action within the tanks, exists. "Continued residential development in the area without adequate sewage treatment does and must continue to have a detrimental effect upon the quality of the sheltered waters of the adjacent bays." He said some form of sewage treatment was essential to preserve the amenities of the neighbourhood and the bay, particularly with the extension of residential development. Mr Crawford advised the council to consent to the application, but only after it had satisfied itself that the site was able to accommodate satisfactory treatment for the whole of the area to be served. The county's senior area engineer, Mr D. P. Worth, said it was desirable to sewer the land at the time of subdivision and, in the absence of an overall scheme, a temporary package treatment plant was necessary. It was intended that the plant would serve new residential development in the area until the implementation of an overall scheme for sewage disposal at Acacia Bay. "At present, it is planned to do this by connecting with the Taupo Borough Council treatment works," he said. "It is not possible to stipulate when an overall scheme will be implemented, as this will depend on reaching agreement with the borough on cost sharing, assessing the method of implementing the scheme, and the finan-

cial commitments required." Although the maximum area presently zoned could yield 600 residential lots, it was anticipated that, at most, the plant would need to serve about 300, Mr Worth said. The council would be required to make a financial contribution to the initial plant, but the costs of all reticulation and future extensions to the plant would be borne by the subdividers. It was proposed to establish a special rating area ovqr those properties connected to the plant to meet maintenance and operating costs. About 150 acres of land was zoned residential at the Tnoment and would be subdivided in the near future. Although it would have been desirable to site the package plant at a lower point further along Acacia Bay Road on Maori-owned Rangitira B land, this was impossible. The land was the subject of a Supreme Court injunction and a Royal Commission hearing into its future use. "It is essential that the plant be established at an early stage, otherwise subdivision of the adjoining fands will proceed without

the installation of sewer reticulation, and the opportunity tp sewer these subdivisions at little or no cost to the community will be lost," said Mr Worth. The council proposed to acquire the sections on either side of the plant site for reserves, to serve as a buffer zone. When the , temporary plant was eventually removed, the site would revert to reserve, making a total neighbourhood reserve area of about 5/8 acre. The plant proposed should cause no offcnce or nuisance, achieve a higlv standard of treatment, improve sewage treatment and disposal for the area and offer a means of substantially reducing the ultimate cost to ratepayers. Summing up the council's case, the county engineer, Mr J. W. Bull, said the county had done more than merely bend over backwards to protect the rights of ratepayers in the area. It had "bent into a hoop trying to help people realise what we are doing and why. "Without this plant, Acacia Bay is unlikely to be served by sewerage reticulation for many, many years — if at all," said Mr Bull.