The grim state of Three Waters infrastructure in Hutt City

Tuesday, 25 June 2024

The Seaview Wastewater Treatment Plant needs a major upgrade. The plant failing is just one of more than 20 major Three Waters risks facing Hutt City.

Unresolved odour issues, a 18km sewerage pipe that could cost $1b to replace and running out of drinking water.

Those are just some of the 23 major risks included in a Hutt Council report that outlines the major Three Waters risks facing the city.

Much of the massive amount of work required to fix the infrastructure outlined in the report is unfunded, despite posing a major threat to the ongoing viability of the city.

Hutt City has allocated $1.6b over the next ten years and is proposing a 16.9% rate increase to address Three Water issues but councillor Simon Edwards says the situation facing the council and its ratepayers is grim.

Not only was it proposing a large rate increase at a time when people are struggling financially, it was proposing significant rate increases for the next decade.

The council, he said, had also been forced to introduce a number of unpopular items, including paid parking in Petone, to help pay for the Three Waters upgrades.

Simon Edwards says the council had to introduce paid parking in Petone to avoid putting rates up an extra 1%. He accepts such measures are unpopular but says the city has to address its massive Three Waters deficit and make some tough decisions.

The overwhelming response from ratepayers was that the council had no choice but to increase rates and they would reluctantly accept the increase, as long as the money goes to Three Waters.

Although the Government is proposing a new structure, Local Water Done Well, the infrastructure deficit facing the city is acute and the council had no choice but to make as much progress as it can, even in a tough financial climate.

“We cannot continue to kick the can down the road and hope that some new structure will pay for it all,” Edwards said.

As well as increasing rates, the council is also increasing debt to $1b.

Edwards says Wellington Water had rightly pointed out how serious the Three Waters situation is and he hoped that listing the risks would make residents aware of the magnitude of the challenge facing the council.

A report to the Audit and Risk Committee lists 23 major risks. These include:

˗ An ongoing risk of failure at the Seaview Treatment Plant. Although work is planned to upgrade the plant, it is still some years away from completion.

A photo from the 1976 December flood that left much of Petone under water. Climate change and a lack of resilience in the storm water system poses a major threat to the city.

˗ There is a continuing risk of water supply restrictions over summer due to leaky pipes and not enough pipes being renewed annually.

˗ The 18km outfall pipe from the Seaview Treatment Plant needs replacing or repairing. Until that is done there is an increased risk of overflow discharges into the Waiwhetu Stream. There is no budget for the work required, with some estimates as high as $1b.

˗ Erosion is potentially undermining the bulk waste water pipeline near Taita. There is no funding for the work required to fix the problem.

˗ Some reservoirs could fail, leading to drinking water contamination.

˗ There is a significant and growing renewals backlog of water and wastewater assets. The report notes that asset failure had the “potential to disrupt critical regional infrastructure, the general public and disrupt services to a range of customers e.g. SH2, Rail corridor etc.”

˗ A lack of resilience in the stormwater network. The report notes: “Potential for damage to third party property impacting health and safety and causing legal liability and decline in customer satisfaction. e.g. slips, leaks, overflows and damage over time. The frequency and extremity of storm events will increase over time as a result of climate change rendering the network less able to deal with extreme events.”

˗ Drinking water network safety, performance and resilience is compromised due to the poor condition of pipes and reservoirs, and underinvestment in operational activities and asset renewals.

˗ Wastewater networks resilience is also compromised due the to poor condition of assets and underinvestment in maintenance and renewals.

˗ There is inadequate investment to ensure the provision of safe drinking water supplies after a large earthquake.

˗ Water demand for Hutt City is outstripping supply due to water loss in the network and residential growth. There is 110km of galvanised pipe that is at risk of failing and which needs replacing.

˗ There is a risk that work planned to deal with odour issues at the Seaview Treatment Plant will not be a long term solution.

˗ The city is also unprepared for climate change.