The days of septic tanks may soon be over for some Kaka Point property owners at the northern end of the coastal township but only if enough stump up the money for an investigation into an extension of the town's sewerage scheme.
Most homes in the township are connected to the Clutha District Council-owned sewerage system but several, at its northern end, are not.
A property owner not connected to the ratepayer-funded scheme recently approached the council, asking if their and neighbouring homes could be part of a scheme extension.
The idea was tabled before last Thursday's meeting of the council's district assets committee.
In a report to the committee, water services manager Hank Stocker said the area of interest was the coastal strip and immediate inland area to the north of the township up to the former Port Molyneux School.
About 1km of new sewer main would be needed to service the extra homes.
Initially, the council canvassed 25 property owners who would potentially be affected by the upgrade.
Nine responses were returned with most of those interested but unwilling to commit until the exact costs were known.
Mr Stocker said this feedback showed there was potentially enough interest to justify a scoping study looking at the feasibility and costs of an extended scheme.
If a minimum of five of the 25 households each paid $500, that would be enough for a basic study.
If the scheme was extended, those who paid the initial money would have that amount deducted from their connection charge, but they had to accept the risk of losing that money if the project did not go ahead.
The committee recommended seeking a firm $500 commitment from each property in the area and to begin a scoping study if reached the $2500 threshold.
It will be the second attempt to extend the township's sewerage scheme after a similar venture to link up properties at the southern end, at Willsher Bay, fell through because of high costs and a lack of financial commitment from homeowners.
