Wastewater
Are we doing what we oughta when it comes to wastewater?
Do you agree with our proposed short to medium term options for dealing with wastewater in Taupō North and Tūrangi?
THESE PROJECTS WILL BE FUNDED BY RATES
What is the problem in Tūrangi?
Taupō District Council provides wastewater services for 12 towns and communities in the district. All of these plants, except Tūrangi, discharge treated wastewater to land.
Turangi's wastewater is currently treated to a high standard and is discharged into a wetland. The wetland discharges into a stream, which then discharges into Lake Taupō. While this is different to other areas in Taupō District, this is a very normal process for treated wastewater across New Zealand, and abroad. However, the community has raised concerns over current disposal and its impacts on the waters of Lake Taupō.
The Tūrangi wastewater treatment plant’s resource consents need to be replaced as a matter of urgency and we must find a long-term solution (greater than 10 years) for Tūrangi’s wastewater.
Council and a community steering group are working together to find a suitable site to discharge Tūrangi wastewater to land in the long term. Council is committed to working closely with iwi and hapū through the steering group to develop and design future options for Tūrangi wastewater and understand their impacts.
For this draft Long-term Plan, we’ve put in provision for a short (one to three years) to medium-term solution (over the next 10 years) while we continue to work through the long-term options.
Proposed option for Tūrangi
Provided for in the plan: Pursue a short to medium-term option for resolving wastewater plant risks in Tūrangi.
What is proposed
We’ve allowed $6 million in this plan, from 2028 to 2030, to improve our current treatment process and discharge from the Tūrangi Wastewater Treatment Plant. We’ll continue to work with iwi and hapū to find a suitable place to discharge treated wastewater to land in the longer term.
✔️ Allows Council to apply to renew the Tūrangi Wastewater Treatment Plant’s resource consents.
✔️ Allows the Tūrangi Wastewater Treatment Plant to keep operating.
❌ In the short to medium term we will not be able to completely address the community’s concerns about the current disposal of Tūrangi wastewater.
| Cost and debt impact | |
| Capital Cost: | $6.5 million |
| Debt Funded: | $6.5 million |
| Rates impact (average $ per ratepayer) | |
| 2030-2031 (due to site rehabilitation): | $39 |
| Thereafter: | $16 |
Alternative option for Tūrangi
The alternative option would be to not invest in the current Tūrangi wastewater discharge site and continue to work with iwi and hapū to look for somewhere suitable to discharge the wastewater to land.
An initial estimate of the possible cost is $18.5 million, which would be funded by debt with an impact on rates of around $58 (average per ratepayer). Despite extensive investigations we haven’t yet found a location for this. However, Council remains open to a land-based wastewater solution for Tūrangi if an appropriate site can be found. In the meantime, the wastewater treatment plant’s resource consent needs to be replaced urgently, so we need a short to medium term fix.
What is the problem in Taupō?
We have a different wastewater problem in Taupō.
Population growth on the northern side of the Waikato River means the pipe that takes wastewater across the river to the Taupō Wastewater Treatment Plant is almost at capacity. Legally, Council must plan for growth, and therefore a solution needs to be found. Council is proposing a short term (one to three years) solution while we plan for a longer-term fix.
Council has been working closely with a steering group of local iwi and hapū. The steering group will continue to explore a solution in the long-term (greater than 10 years) of a wastewater treatment and disposal system in the north of Taupō that avoids connections across the Waikato River.
In the short-term, additional resilience measures (storage tanks) are planned to provide increased options to manage high flow events and reduce the risk of overflows. The high-risk areas for overflows are the manhole covers on either side, rather than the connection across the Waikato River itself.
In the medium-term (over the next 10 years) the Long-term Plan sets aside funding for increasing the capacity of our wastewater connections in Taupō town across the Waikato River. Very high resilience will be a key goal.
Council is committed to continuing to work with iwi and hapū, through the established steering group, to identify the long-term solution for managing wastewater on the Rangatira side of Te Awa o Waikato.
Proposed option for Taupō
Provided for in the plan: Pursue a medium-term option for resolving wastewater risks on the northern side of Taupō.
What is proposed
We would initially install wastewater storage tanks for additional resilience then increase capacity of the wastewater connections across the Waikato River to cater for the extra volume.
✔️ Support growth on the northern side of Taupō.
✔️ Improves resilience and reduces spill risks from current levels.
✔️ Achievable within Council’s prudential debt limits.
❌ Does not eliminate the carriage of untreated wastewater over the Waikato River in the medium-term.
| Cost and debt impact | |
| Capital Cost: | $7.3 million |
| Debt Funded: | $7.3 million |
| Rates impact (average $ per ratepayer) | |
| From 2031/32: | $18.50 |
Alternative option in Taupō
There is no other medium-term alternative option at present.
Council is committed to continuing to work with iwi and hapū, through the established steering group, to identify the long-term solution for managing wastewater on the Rangatira side of Te Awa o Waikato.
