26 August 2015

Board offers subsidy to improve water quality

The lagoons at Karekare, Piha, North Piha and Te Henga (Bethells) have a history of pollution and recent studies have shown that poorly performing septic systems and long drops are contributing to this problem.

Waitākere Ranges Local Board is providing 20 subsidies of $2,500 each to help homeowners pay for the cost of upgrading their septic systems in the lagoon catchment areas to help address these water quality issues.

The subsidy is open to all households with old septic tanks or long drops within the Karekare, Piha, North Piha or Te Henga (Bethells) lagoon catchments until 30 June 2016, or until fully expended. The subsidies will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

“If you have an old septic tank or long drop, we encourage you to apply for a subsidy to upgrade your septic system. We’ve already had one application, which has been granted, to help someone upgrade from a long drop to a secondary treatment system,” says Waitākere Ranges Local Board’s environment portfolio holder Saffron Toms.

“We have contracted EcoMatters Environment Trust to help with this project, and we thank them for their efforts in the community to raise awareness of this issue. Our board and the trust will continue to work with locals to ensure our lagoons get back to full health to make them safe for people, especially children, to enjoy.”

More information on the lagoons and some of what is happening to protect them, as well as things you can do to prevent septic tank contamination of the lagoons, such as an annual check of wastewater systems, can be found athttp://www.ecomatters.org.nz/projects/loveourlagoons/.

In addition, Auckland Council is planning a range of other activities to improve water quality in the lagoons, including reviewing council-owned wastewater systems in these areas to make sure they are operating as well as possible.

The council is also offering applicants a streamlined and subsidised consenting process for upgrades of septic systems in these areas. Process and fee incentives differ according to the environmental benefit the upgraded system provides.

For more information on the local board’s subsidy and the subsidised consenting process please contact environmental funding staff on environmentalfunding@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz or phone 09 301 0101 or go to aucklandcouncil.govt.nz and search ‘septic tanks’.

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