Shortterm solutions being considered for water issues

THE Dunedin City Council is considering shortterm fixes as it seeks to avoid a repeat of wastewater pouring into South Dunedin streets during floods, chief executive Sue Bidrose says.

Dr Bidrose, speaking this week, said council staff were studying ‘‘potential options’’ that could work as a holding pattern until more extensive work got under way.

The council has budgeted $35 million in its 10year plan to improve the South Dunedin stormwater network, although physical work was not expected to begin for at least three years, to allow time for planning and design work.

Another $44 million had been budgeted for the upgrade of the Green Island wastewater treatment plant, including piping wastewater from Kaikorai Valley to Green Island, instead of through South Dunedin to the Tahuna treatment plant, to alleviate pressure on the South Dunedin network.

However, that work was not expected to begin for at least two years, in 202021, once planning and design work was complete.

The long wait for improvements did not impress some submitters this week, who wanted the council to move more quickly to address the problems in South Dunedin.

Chris Medlicott, speaking yesterday, told the hearing the problems affected South Dunedin residents, but also his own plans in Kaikorai Valley.

He had sought to rezone a 4ha rural block as residential, but was told the area’s wastewater infrastructure could not accommodate the change.

At the moment, during floods, wastewater pipes overflowed into Kaikorai Stream as well as Surrey St and other parts of South Dunedin, and fixing it was ‘‘a matter of our civic responsibility’’, he said.

‘‘We have a responsibility not to pollute,’’ he said.

A new pipe carrying wastewater from Kaikorai Valley to Green Island was a ‘‘fantastic’’ solution for all concerned, but the work needed to be accelerated ‘‘with some urgency’’, Mr Medlicott believed.

Dr Bidrose told the hearing the improvements had been delayed in part because a call for tenders had elicited only one response, which came in 50% over budget.

Planning work for the improvements had already begun, but it was important to get it right, she believed.

‘‘It’s in a trajectory to get built as quickly as it can,’’ he said.