CCWW04/05 Challis/Munro CARRIED

There were no late items.

MEETING HELD TUESDAY 16 MARCH 2004

RESOLVED

THAT the minutes of the meeting of the Consultative Committee Water and Wastes held on Tuesday 16 March 2004 be taken as read and confirmed.

CCWW04/06 Challis/Munro CARRIED

UTILITIES MANAGER’S WATER SUPPLY REPORT

A report from the Utilities Manager was presented.

CCWW04/07 Trembath/Munro CARRIED

District Water

Member questioned the Puriri water supply and the benefits that would be gained from the Hikutaia Cut. The Utilities Manager explained that with the closure of the Puriri supply the Hikutaia Cut would aid in the production of water during the summer months when the Kerepehi Plant is effected by the King (Spring) tides. This alone would not solve the supply issues and there is also a need to increase the flow rate and productivity of the Kerepehi Water Treatment Plant.

The status of the Hikutaia Cut was updated regarding the negotiation with Environment Waikato. There is a concern with erosion that may be caused by the raising and lowering of the water levels during the operation of the taking water from the Cut.

A decision is projected to be made by Environment Waikato in about 6 weeks time.

A brochure "The Story of Drinking Water" which was produced by the New Zealand Water and Wastes Association was presented which explained where water is derived from and the process of water treatment for drinking water.

The Utilities Manager outlined the test results for E.coli bacteria in the district water supplies, explaining the data collected from monitoring of water supplies.

Member questioned the quality of the Mackaytown water supply and commented that the water is often very dirty after heavy rainfall and should the public boil the water before use. The District Engineer suggested the residents in this area could be notified when there has been heavy rain, that the water quality would be poor.

It was questioned what the future would be for the Karangahake water supply. The Utilities Manager advised that the water supply is to be connected to the Paeroa water supply in the 2009/2010 financial period.

It was advised that it is planned to have a 24 hour storage reservoir for Mackaytown and Karangahake communities to aid in the fire fighting capabilities in the 2007/2008 financial period.

UTILITIES MANAGER’S WASTEWATER AND REFUSE REPORT

A report from the Utilities Manager was presented.

CCWW04/08 Challis/Carmine CARRIED

Kerepehi Wastewater Treatment Plant Resource Consent

The resource consent for the discharge of up to 834 cubic metres per day of treated wastewater expires 30^th April 2005. An application for renewal will be commenced in the near future.

A reply has been sent to Rachael Porteous of QC consultants regarding the Opukeko Rd stockyards. The consultants requested information as to whether council would accept effluent from the stockyards as an alternative to discharge to the nearby stream.

As council does not have an existing Trade Waste Bylaw, consultation with Hamilton and Rotorua has resulted in enabling to set some criteria that council could accept the effluent.

Debbie Henson from Environment Waikato is also interested as to whether the discharge into council’s reticulation was viable as she is handling the resource consent application.

Member requested an outline of the regulations involved in the Trade Waste Bylaw. The Utilities Manager advised that the regulations allow 5 cubic metre per day of wastewater to be released. If extra stock effluent waste is there, then users are charged for that extra waste.

Rachael Porteous of QC Consultants has indicated that they would require information from Council whether effluent from the stockyards as an alternative to discharge to the nearby stream.

The issue of septic tanks cleaning and servicing to maintain a warrant of fitness. Concerns were expressed regarding the dumping of septic tank waste in the Mackaytown area. It was advised that as an alternative, septic tanks wastewater can be transported by truck away to a site for treatment and then discharged into landfill.

CCWW04/09 Baker/Challis CARRIED

The Utilities Manager outlined the upgrade of the Waihi Wastewater Treat Plant.

With the amount of infill subdivision happening at Whiritoa, council has engaged the original design consultants of the scheme to produce a report analysing existing flows, predict future flows, assess the WWTP and forest irrigation capacity, plus consideration of options for upgrading the scheme to meet future demands. This report is due June 2004.

Council is looking at options to improve the efficiency of the leachate system of the Waihi Tip. The options include the removal of one of the pump stations and gravitating the leachate from this station to the lower pump station which in turn is pumped into the Waihi wastewater reticulation system.

Councils Professional Services Business Unit has been engaged to write an updated operational contract for each RTS site that could be tendered together or independently out in the open market, or utilised as a service level agreement with C & M.

The contract/service level agreement documentation is expected to be finalised mid May.

Installation of a weigh bridge will be considered this year for the purposes of calculating quantities of solid waste received at the refuse transfer stations.

There was no general business.

The meeting closed at 11.15am.

CONFIRMED

S G Baker

June 2004