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Previous progress reports are archived at the bottom of the page.
Wastewater Treatment Pond Upgrade
August/September 2021
Due to the COVID-19 Alert Level 4 lockdown, there are no new updates at this stage, however, work onsite has recommenced during Alert Level 2.
Clock tower remediation & landscaping
August/September 2021
The chimes are going again and there has been fantastic progress with the landscaping around the clocktower. Check out our video to get some insight into the inner workings of the clock mechanism and the chimes.
Budget: Existing Parks maintenance budget
Timeframe: Groundwork completed by October, planting to follow.
Three Waters Reform
August/September 2021
Despite the Alert Level lockdown in August, the 3 Wairarapa Councils are still working through another period of analysis on our Districts’ drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater services. Councils are providing further analysis to Central Government by September 30.
We still do not know the exact costs for each Council. What we do know is no matter which model is chosen, household costs for water are likely to go up due to the following changes taking place:
- Taumata Arawai Drinking water standards
- The Water Services Bill currently going through Parliament
- The proposed natural resources plan from GWRC
- The national policy statement on freshwater management.
Whether councils join an entity or go it alone, the cost of meeting these new standards will rise.
What happens next?
At this stage, we believe Councils can opt out of being part of the new entities but this hasn’t been confirmed. The 1st October date is not a deadline for making a decision. Councils are using this time to gather as much information from Central Government to better understand the long-term impacts these reforms will have on our communities.
We don’t know what DIA will be asking of Councils at the end of this timeframe, but we will be able to give our feedback and have a better understanding of when the Government will start its community consultation.
Town Centre Redevelopment
August/September 2021
Mayor Greg Lang and Councillor Robyn Cherry-Campbell have been working hard with developers, businesses and building owners over the last 12 months to progress the redevelopment in the town centre. We’re excited to see Finom reopening at their new premises. The building next to 3Mile is having earthquake strengthening work done so the second hand shop can return to trading there. More townhouses are being built and some encouraging conversations are happening with businesses from other towns interested in relocating to our District.
We are also really pleased to see the town get behind Cafe Olé while they prepare to relocate to the Tryst building next to Double Dollar Plus. Olé will have to close for a few months while the building is being made fit for purpose but we are looking forward to their return as they are a unique part of our business community with a strong customer base.
Cost: As part of the Ten Year Plan 2021-2031 being adopted 30 June 2021, the Council will be allocating $331,000 plus interest to purchase land for new public spaces and accessways/laneways in the town centre. This would be done in conjunction with redevelopment by the private sector, incentivising them to deliver the shared vision.
Frederick Street Water Treatment Plant upgrade
August/September 2021
We have ordered an additional UV system and a port-a-com to house this in.
We have re-drilled an existing bore that had been capped off to explore if we could gain some additional water. The bore now provides a low level amount of water but does require extensive flushing prior to use.
New water sources for Carterton are crucial for our growing district. Work on future supplies has been brought forward, and analysis will start soon.
A quality options analysis will establish the available, and optimum source of potable water. We had funds set aside in the Ten Year Plan for next financial year to undertake an options analysis for an additional water source. After the Policy and Strategy committee had asked for the Eastern Growth area to have a greater density of housing they recommended to move the study to the current financial year. This recommendation was moved at the August Ordinary Council meeting.
Timing: The window for work to be undertaken on the Frederick Street plant needs to fit within the window of water availability, i.e. outside summer months and weather forecasting. Heavy rain will increase the turbidity of the water and trigger and automatic shutdown of the UVs. We are reluctant to rely on weather event forecasting for any more than 3 or 4 days in advance therefore work on the Frederick Street plant needs to be staged so that each tranche of work must be in a 3 to 4-day window.
Cost: The Council received $300,000 from the Three Waters funding plus our own planned capex expenditure to undertake the work. The upgrades include the installation of a new power supply, new cabinets and wiring for SCADA. New variable speed drives for the reticulation pumps, automatic switch overs to generator during a power outage, new chlorine dosing pumps and SCADA control. All plant, equipment, and controls have been incorporated into new schematics.
Climate Change updates
July/August 2021
This month the three Wairarapa councils launched a Healthy Home kit thanks to Climate Change Advisors Mélanie Barthe and Natasha Tomic. This self-assessment toolkit will enable you to assess your home for warmth and damp, and understand how it’s performing. You will find useful tips and advice to improve the comfort of your home, and the health of occupants. You can borrow the kit for FREE from the Carterton, Greytown and Masterton Libraries (available at Martinborough and Featherston upon request).
To read the full statement click here
To view the self-user guide and record sheets visit www.cdc.govt.nz/healthyhome
Conservation week
Local organisations are urging the Wairarapa to take a moment to think about our climate this Conservation Week, 4-12 September. There’s a range of activities happening across the region – fish and insect monitoring, planting and weeding, expert presentations, art exhibitions, film screenings and more – there’s something for everyone. Plus, entry is either free or a koha! Climate Change Advisor, Mélanie Barthe, says some amazing guest speakers are lined up to speak at evening evetns being held in Carterton and Martinborough on the 3rd and 11th of September respectively.
For a programme of all the events on in your region this Conservation Week, click here
Previous updates
June/July 2021
Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade
Viking placed the geo fabric on the remaining sections of pond 1 in the week ending 11 June 2021, they are still to complete pond 2 geo fabric then finish laying the black liner and have this tested for leak integrity. While waiting for the reservoirs to be completed, work on stage 3 has started on the upgrade of the existing wet well, located next to the UV treatment system on Dalefield Road. Late delivery of the stage 2 has pushed stage 3 into less desirable winter conditions therefore the remaining cannot now be completed until the end of next summer, but we are still within the time period of our consents to have the reservoirs operating. Once the physical works on the site are completed the upgraded plant will be commissioned.
Clock tower remediation & landscaping
The clock tower reserve landscape renovation is underway, with improved access, new seats and 3 specimen trees being the main features. The groundwork is being done by the Council using existing maintenance budgets from the Parks and Reserves budget. The team is making good progress but this work may take a few months, at which stage the Carterton Lions will help with the planting. There will be timber seating, lots of planting and trees for shading, creating a green and welcoming community space. An important feature includes lowering the ground level of the main seating space to footpath level to remove the current step up from the footpath, making the area accessible to those using wheelchairs or mobility scooters.
Three Waters Reform
What does this mean for our council and community?
Town Centre Redevelopment
On 30 June, the Council is set to adopt its Draft Ten Year Plan for 2021-2031 which included confirmation of Option B in the Consultation Document – include budget capacity of $331,000 for the purchase of land for public spaces and accessways/laneways in the town centre. Mayor Greg Lang has provided the following updates which have come from his work as part of the Mayor’s Town Centre Taskforce
- High Street will not be flattened, and the fate of the majority of buildings is not demolition.
- Of the two buildings which are earmarked for demolition, the businesses are relocating and there are exciting and innovative plans for what will go in their place. There will be no vacant lots on our High Street.
- We have investors queueing up, waiting for a building to be listed for sale so they can snap it up. We have a strong vision, one which shows who we are, where we have come from and what we aspire to be, and this is resonating with investors.
- At the moment the majority of the specifics of what’s happening remains commercially sensitive information. Exciting new ventures/businesses are looking at establishing and several existing businesses are ready to relocate to other High Street premises, and Mayor Lang is facilitating this to reduce the impact on their ability to trade. There are developers ready to action grand plans for the buildings they relocate from.
Frederick Street Water Treatment Plant upgrade
Council are mid-way through a planned upgrade of the Frederick Street treatment plant. The timing of the upgrades has been constricted due to rely on supply through the Kaipaitangata treatment plant while working on the Frederick Street plant.
Climate Change updates
Carterton District Council is taking part in the Wellington Regional Growth Framework (WRGF) through its participation in the Wellington Regional Climate Change Forum. We have an active voice in two projects of the WRGF:
- Develop a regional emissions reduction action plan
- Regional approach to planning for and managing climate change impact
Through those two projects, CDC plays an active role in climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation at a regional level.
July/August
Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade
Ponds 1 and 3 have had the lining completed with a small section of pond 2 left to finish. Ponds 1 and 3 have had their spillways finished and landscaping and topsoiling around the perimeter of the dam wall has been completed. Work on the valve chamber headworks has been undertaken and pipework connecting the treatment plant with the inlets to the ponds is happening with the stainless steel pipe fabrication being made off-site for the inlets. The outlet tee-bars for two of the ponds have also been installed at the southern end of the pond.
Frederick Street Water Treatment Plant upgrade
We are currently in the planning phase of when we can plan a shutdown of the Frederick Street Water Treatment Plant and a swap over to the Kaipaitangata treatment plant to undertake a few days of work.
The council has teamed up with WaterOutlook as part of the improvements it is making to its monitoring of the urban water supply. WaterOutlook is a specialised software platform owned and operated in New Zealand and used for gathering and analysing water quality data. Council staff will use WaterOutlook to keep across the vast amounts of data involved in running the district’s 3 Waters systems. Having that data at our fingertips will save us significant amounts of time and help improve water quality and compliance outcomes going forward.
Climate Change updates
This month the three Wairarapa councils launched a Healthy Home kit thanks to Climate Change Advisors Mélanie Barthe and Natasha Tomic. This self-assessment toolkit will enable you to assess your home for warmth and damp, and understand how it’s performing. You will find useful tips and advice to improve the comfort of your home, and the health of occupants. You can borrow the kit for FREE from the Carterton, Greytown and Masterton Libraries (available at Martinborough and Featherston upon request).
To read the full statement click here
To view the self-user guide and record sheets visit www.cdc.govt.nz/healthyhome
Conservation week
Local organisations are urging the Wairarapa to take a moment to think about our climate this Conservation Week, 4-12 September. There’s a range of activities happening across the region – fish and insect monitoring, planting and weeding, expert presentations, art exhibitions, film screenings and more – there’s something for everyone. Plus, entry is either free or a koha! Climate Change Advisor, Mélanie Barthe, says some amazing guest speakers are lined up to speak at evening evetns being held in Carterton and Martinborough on the 3rd and 11th of September respectively.
For a programme of all the events on in your region this Conservation Week, click here
Town Centre Redevelopment
Exciting developments are continuing, including Finom’s announcement that it will be relocating to the old Salvation Army building on High Street, which has been restored and renovated. This is just one of many buildings which will be refurbished for a business to relocate to, with plans in place for the earthquake prone building the businesses relocate from. We will continue to update you as soon as the information is able to be made public.
Clock tower remediation & landscaping
The landscaping is coming along well with progress being made on the concrete seating around the base of the clocktower. In early July, the chimes stopped sounding after one of the motors burnt out. This was sent away to experts in Lower Hutt to repair. They rewired it, tested it and ran it before assessing the condition of the gearing and returning it to us. We are now in the process of refitting it to the mechanism to get the chimes going again soon.
Three Waters Reform
July/August 2021
Central Government has released the cabinet papers for the next steps of the three waters review detailing the number of proposed entities and the boundaries they will cover. In addition, the Government announced a $2.5 billion package to support local government transition through the reforms to New Zealand’s drinking water, wastewater and stormwater services. $2 billion has been set aside for councils to invest in the future for local government, urban development, and the wellbeing of their communities. $500 million of the 2.5bn seeks to address the costs and financial impacts that councils would incur such as the transfer of water assets, liabilities, revenue and staff to a new water services entity. The funding also ensures councils will be able to continue to sustainably perform their non-water related roles and functions.
What happens next?
Council staff and elected members will spend the next 8 weeks collating further information from Central Government and reviewing it to determine how this will affect both the council and our District as a whole. We are still unsure as to what DIA will be asking of Local Councils at the end of the 8 weeks, however, we should have a better idea of when central government intends to commence community consultation. At this stage, the Council has made no indication whether it is leaning towards opting in or out, and any media reports which state otherwise are incorrect