Benhar residents will be charged only a half sewer rate, as work on the township's sewerage project has been delayed, while the laying of pipes and manholes is already under way in Tokoiti.
At the Clutha District Council's draft long-term plan meeting last week, councillors voted to set a "half-rate" for the Benhar sewerage capital rate at $496 for rating area A and $442.50 for rating area B for 2012-13, due to the delay in the project's construction.
Council projects engineer Peter Ross said the contractor's design had been reviewed and the first batch of pumps delivered to the council's yard in Balclutha.
Work on site is expected to start in July with pump installation, to be followed by reticulation when ground conditions allow in spring. The contract completion date is December.
The council was also working on property access agreements to lay the reticulation on private property.
Earlier this year, the council decided that the capital rate for four outer Benhar properties would be set at a lump-sum payment of $11,875 with the inclusion of these properties meaning the remaining 48 properties would pay a lump sum of $12,974 with the scheme cost estimated at $1.3 million.
Council district assets manager Jules Witt said about 48 properties were now included in the Tokoiti sewerage project, with several Milton properties in Lisburn, Cargill and MacAndrew Sts joining.
The inclusion of an additional 16 properties brings the total estimated cost of the project to $952,000, up from the previous estimate of $710,000, but also reduces the capital lump sum from $11,536 to $10,400 for properties not fronting on to Tokoiti Rd - the "core" Tokoiti scheme properties.
The cost for owners of properties offered the discounted rate of $8000 remains.
Last week, the council also voted to decrease the Tokoiti capital sewerage rate for the core area from $929 to $775, due to the addition of extra properties to the project.
Mr Ross said Adams Plumbing was in the process of laying pipes and manholes at present.
About 650m of mains, or about 50% of the total length, has been laid with some work done on connections and in Tokoiti Rd for the extension of the scheme approved by the council. He said the contract completion date was the end of July, but the work to extend the scheme would take it past this date by a month or two.
