Release: Immediate

Date: November 8, 2009

Prepared by: Graeme Stilwell

New sewerage scheme for Arowhenua

The Arowhenua community, including the Arowhenua School and Marae, will be saying goodbye to septic tanks and connecting directly to Temuka’s sewerage system with the approval last month of a 50 per cent Government subsidy for a $1.3 million household pump-based reticulation project.

Work, which will be undertaken by Fulton Hogan, is expected to be completed by October next year and allow Arowhenua households to connect to a reliable and sanitary system, the Timaru District Council says.

The council and the runanga have been actively seeking to upgrade Arowhenua’s sewerage system since 2005 and have welcomed Ministry of Health funding and assistance under the Sanitary Works Subsidy Scheme.

Council drainage and water manager Grant Hall said today both the community and the council welcomed the upgrade from a “tired and increasingly faulty scheme that relied on on-site septic tanks and infiltration fields”.

He said investigations into a suitable sewerage scheme for the Arowhenua community had been ongoing since 2005 with a working party established to oversee consultation on the project – “which had been extensive and allowed input from all people affected by the change”.

“The community has welcomed the upgrade and will now have a tailor-made pump-based reticulation system that will see each household have a small pump chamber installed on their properties. Sewer pipes at each property will discharge into this chamber,” Mr Hall said.

“Sewage will then be pumped to a pressure main in the street, which will discharge to a main pump station under the road on Huirapa Street opposite the marae.

“All sewage from the community will then be pumped to Temuka to discharge into the existing Temuka sewerage system,” Mr Hall said.

He said the cost to connect, per household, was just $6000 (GST included). By comparison, a new on-site treatment and disposal system that complied with the required standards would cost each household approximately $15,000.

“The council was able to offer the relatively low connection cost because of funding from the Ministry of Health and other agencies,” Mr Hall said.

Once installed, the householder would be responsible for the household pump chamber, which contained a macerator pump, and the pumped sewage pipeline in the property to the street boundary, Mr Hall said.

“The council will be responsible for the household pumps in the household pump chambers at no cost to the householder.

The power to run the pump would only cost the householder about $30 a year, he said.

ENDS

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