Defective faucet. Cause wastage of water with sunlight. Photo: 123RF
An Auckland Councillor is concerned about the impact of wastewater system constraints on residents.
Watercare said there were only 4000 more wastewater connections available in the Hibiscus Coast in northern Auckland before the Army Bay Treatment plant reached capacity.
Last year, Watercare revealed developments in the area which were not resource consented by 15 November would be unable to connect to the wastewater network until the plant is upgraded in 2031.
Councillor John Watson said Watercare's plans to invest $13.8 billion in long-term infrastructure was necessary, but in the meantime, the utility needed to address constraints on connecting to the wastewater system in the area.
"This is an emergency situation and they have to find out in the interim how they're not going to destroy the financial wellbeing of people who have purchased sections and have been paying rates for years.
"It's great they [Watercare] are going to invest for the future but what are they going to do here and now to make sure property owners in the Hibiscus Coast aren't penalised."
He said halting developments for seven years would have disastrous impacts on areas like Milldale.
"This came out of the blue for developers and certainly individual property owners.
"Some big developers managed to secure connections that may kick them over for a number of years but ordinary citizens face real uncertainty over whether they will be able to connect and therefore build a house or sell a property."
"It's totally unsatisfactory that that level of constraint wasn't identified and communicated earlier."
Watercare chief executive Dave Chambers acknowledged wastewater constraints were a problem in places like the Hibiscus Coast.
He said most of Auckland could be connected to the wastewater network, but they needed to catch up in some areas as Auckland's population grew rapidly.
"I don't make any apologies that when the pipes are full they're full.
"We need to do the upgrades to provide more capacity but if we just continue to connect more people the pipes will overflow into the harbours, streams, and waterways which is also unacceptable."
He said Hibiscus Coast as well as Waitākere, Ōtara, and Beachlands were the areas that were the most constrained.
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