School sewer saga continues
Frankley School has had an ongoing effluent problem. Christine Walsh investigates reasons for the delay.
A New Plymouth primary school has been left stranded up ‘‘that’’ creek without a paddle.
Frankley School’s two ageworn septic tanks have been on the brink of expiry for well over five years.
Council’s engineering staff are currently investigating alternative options, if they look viable, then a proposal will be put to elected officials as part of the 2018-28 LTP said NPDC infrastructure manager David Langford.
In 2012 the school invested $30,000 towards being connected to a council-proposed extension leading to New Plymouth’s sewage system. The money was a huge chunk out of the school’s building budget from the ministry of education, a decision principal Damon Ritai said he made in good faith after talks with council, for fear delays could result in the school’s closure if the tanks copped out.
Ritai said the plug was pulled on the proposal without a word, which left the school to suck it up.
The principal said the issue was something you’d expect to see in a third world country, and he’d been left with a sour taste in his mouth over how the school was treated.
‘‘Frustrated is an understatement. After we had come up with an agreement about what we would do I heard nothing.’’
It wasn’t until Ritai contacted them to ask how the sewerage thing was going, he discovered they had already done a major review and it had been taken off the table. ‘‘It wasn’t until then that I knew it wasn’t going to happen,’’ he said.
Hence, in 2015 he made a submission to the New Plymouth District Council’s LTP that noted his disappointment over the council’s lack of consultation. It also outlined the school’s preference to connect to the NP sewage system as soon as possible.
Since then the school had gone to exhausting lengths, hiring experts and working with the NPDC to find a viable long-term resolution to their effluent saga.
Fortunately findings from NPDC’s inspection in 2015 gave the school a reprieve. It revealed one of the tanks had at least two years life left in it and the other one maybe four.
‘‘All we are trying to do is bide our time so that we can connect to the main sewage line’’
Damon Ritai
However, Ritai said the school’s board was constantly monitoring the situation closely.
That was in 2015, it’s now 2017. You do the maths.
If tanks do fail the outcome can be disastrous. If effluent seeps on to the surface of the ground it’s a health hazard to people and animals. Birds, rats and other animals can spread disease from the effluent and underground water supplies may be polluted. A mosquito and fly breeding ground may develop.
‘‘We are currently weighing up whether or not to undertake an updated investigation on the bottom tank to give us some idea of other solutions we might have,’’ Ritai said. ‘‘For us now we are not looking at the pump solution, we want a gravity feed. That’s our preferred best option. It’s our cheapest option.’’
Ideas thrown about included emptying out an entire septic tank to coat it and flush out the field. ‘‘All we are trying to do is bide our time so that we can connect to the main sewage line,’’ Ritai said.
Today with thousands of the school’s dollars seemingly flushed down the drain it’s still in that same boat, treading water until the council throws them a lifeline.
Unfortunately the council’s latest response means the school can expect at least another year of waiting.
❚ Next week the council and other relevant parties will add their bits to the saga.