Echoes of Bustastrophe in wastewater woes
Now that kids are back at school and most people are back at work, the Wellington weather has finally decided to hit sweltering. So, you’re probably thinking of nipping out to the beach for a quick dip when you get the chance. Think again. Wellington harbour had pollution problems just before Christmas and at O¯ whiro Bay the water flowing into the bay from the nearby stream is over 30 times above the safe swimming level. Let’s hope the ‘‘tsunami of faeces’’ knows to keep away from the Taputeranga Marine Reserve, of which the bay is part.
Island Bay had a discharge that was murkier than the New Zealand First Foundation in the weekend, which we were assured by Wellington Water was not sewage. But it hardly inspires confidence. The discharge was possibly due to a water pipe bursting in Kingston, putting extra water into the stormwater system and washing dirt out into Island Bay.
The incident was ‘‘a really good example of why you need to be careful swimming near stormwater pitfalls after rain’’, said a Wellington Water spokesperson. Perhaps, but it’s also a really good example of how munted our water infrastructure is. We have an entire coast where our health can’t be guaranteed if we go into the water soon after it rains.
A few years back we were warned there was a 40 per cent chance of becoming unwell if we swam on the south coast after summer rain. I rang Greater Wellington Regional Council to check its numbers, but its one scientist was on leave that day. I kid you not.
So, where do you go for a dip in Wellington on a sweltering hot day? You could try my favourite beach, Lyall Bay, but block your ears, nose and throat when the sewage trucks thunder by on their way to the dump. They’re transporting sludge via dirty diesel from Moa Point to the southern landfill, thanks to the breakage of wastewater pipes at the Moa Point sewage treatment plant.
Are you seeing a pattern here? In the street I live in, about the time our turn-of-the-century was built, ‘‘night carts’’ use to arrive in the dark and transport human waste from houses without flush toilets. There was apparently quite a smell when they rolled by. Nearly 120 years later, are things really that much better?
It’s easy to blame Wellington Water and the various councils that manage it for the situation, but the problem is not one you can attach to any single regime. Over the years, our infrastructure has been slowly run down, and investment has not kept up with maintenance needs.
Water simply isn’t ‘‘sexy’’, as GWRC councillor David Lee recently pointed out. So with infrastructure not at the top of the agenda of ratepayers, is it any wonder that local body politicians neglected it at the expense of things like building tourist attractions of negligible value or putting money into economic development agencies and other things they thought would be silver bullets?
Over the years, various water services run by a single council, which were quite successful, have been amalgamated, outsourced and run on corporate lines. Far from discouraging this process, successive Labour and National governments have advocated it. If councils take care of infrastructure, central government doesn’t have to.
But there’s the problem. Local bodies haven’t taken good care of infrastructure. Investment has been relatively low, despite what some local body politicians say, and Wellington’s water infrastructure problems all seem to be occurring at the same time. That’s why many people, including local MPs, are starting to ask questions.
The corporate organisation of our water infrastructure means that local councils can blame regional councils, employees can blame contractors, and vice versa, so it can become difficult to know who really is responsible.
Are you seeing a pattern here? That’s right – it’s just like our crazy public transport system, where one organisation own the trains, another the track, another the overhead wires. Or where one organisation is responsible for the buses, but doesn’t actually operate them, and yet another is responsible for the bus stops.
Is Wellington Water the new Metlink? Is Wastewatergate the new Bustastrophe? Will a parade of apologetic spokespersons say they are doing their best but the problems can’t be fixed overnight?
I hope not, and it seems the various spokespersons and politicians who have fronted up so far have not been deluded about the extent of the problem – unlike their predecessors were about transport. But it’s up to ratepayers to make sure their representatives keep on task and don’t get distracted by costly vanity projects like convention centres and runway extensions.
And if central government does get involved, maybe a bit of direct assistance would be helpful, rather than a 25-year period of consultation, engagement, expensive websites and an overly aspirational name like Let’s Get Waterpipes Mended.
The problem is not one you can attach to any single regime. Over the years, our infrastructure has been slowly run down.