Aucklanders fear spread of kauri dieback during replacement of Huia water treatment plant

Friday, 29 March 2019

Drone footage of the Huia Water Treatment Plant and its feeder dams.

A West Auckland group fighting a proposal for a new water treatment plant is worried the multimillion-dollar project will worsen the spread of kauri dieback disease.

Watercare wants to replace the ageing Huia Water Treatment Plant in the forested area of Titirangi but the Titirangi Protection Group (TPG) is asking it to consider other viable sites.

Two sites have been finalised to 'significantly reduce the impact on local vegetation' and Watercare said kauri dieback was a key consideration in all aspects of its projects.

But TPG spokeswoman Belynda Groot said the whole project would do nothing to stop the spread of dieback in the forest.

An aerial view of the current Huia Water Treatment Plant.

* Water treatment plant to be replaced; three options given

* Protesters oppose new water treatment plant in Auckland**

Residents recently received a letter from Auckland Council threatening anyone with a $20,000 fine if they entered the protected forest, she said.

'Yet Watercare continue to trample all over the site and don't see any issues with bringing in the bulldozers should they succeed in getting resource consent,' Groot said.

'Major earthworks in a forest that has been closed to foot traffic to protect kauri dieback, a vital project that ratepayers are funding to the tune of $100 million, makes absolutely no sense.'

Locals have put up signs on trees near Titirangi as part of their protest against the planned water treatment plant.

Watercare spokeswoman Maxine Clayton said the council-controlled organisation considered kauri dieback in its choice of location sites, design, construction, disposal of vegetation and future use of public walkways.

Initially 100 possible sites had been identified for the reservoirs but those gradually decreased to just two sites following further analysis, she said.

One of the reservoirs would be built on the current site and the other across it, near Exhibition Drive.

'Just one reservoir will be built on land across the road from the current site not two – so therefore far less vegetation will be removed. This means much less soil will be removed and therefore reduced traffic movements,' Clayton said.

'The new reservoir on Exhibition Drive will be underground, so on completion, it won't be visible.'

Clayton said the existing water treatment plant was about 100 years old and needed replacing.

Resource consents for the removal of vegetation, earthworks and stream disturbance would be lodged in May.

'Traffic movements will be covered by a management plan and will cover such things as avoiding local school pick-up/drop-off times.'

She said the cost of the project, which was still in the initial design phase, was yet to be finalised but was likely to cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

'The importance of Huia was demonstrated in 2017 when the Tasman Tempest storm event greatly impacted the Ardmore Water Treatment Plant and Huia played a vital role in maintaining a water supply to Aucklanders.'