Rod Philip
A community group set up to investigate possible
alternatives to the continued use of ageing septic tanks in
Hampden has said it would be too expensive to install a
reticulated system of wastewater management.
The Hampden Wastewater Liaison Group was elected in August to
work with the Waihemo Community Board and the Waitaki
District Council to address the long-standing issue of the
town's septic tanks, and Waihemo Community Board chairman Rod
Philip said the liaison group had now recommended that the
council investigate funding options that would allow
residents who needed to upgrade tanks to pay off the cost of
that work through increased rates payments.
The introduction of a reticulated system was first mooted as
far back as 1996, but Mr Philip said modern on-site systems
were working well in locations as small as 1000sq m and
evidence presented by council officers confirmed that the
lack of a reticulated wastewater scheme was not a barrier to
residential or commercial growth.
''The establishment of a reticulated scheme has been
investigated in the past, and the group is aware this
involves a large upfront cost to build the scheme as well as
operating costs. Group members agreed that an expensive
scheme simply isn't affordable for the Hampden community and
improvements to septic tanks and disposal systems would be
difficult for some.
''Investigations to date show there would be no issues for
the community if all landowners operated their on-site
systems, mostly septic tanks, properly. ''An inspection of
selected properties revealed many of the problems identified
in the late 1990s have been rectified, but some property
owners have problems to fix.''
A public forum will be held on December 17 to hear community
views on a preferred solution.
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