Downpours strain network

Persistent, heavy rain last week, coupled with high ground water levels, have caused challenges with council networks and led to isolated flooding for some residents.

Waita¯rere Beach, Foxton and Foxton Beach residents were asked on Monday to urgently stop pumping stormwater into the wastewater network.

Wastewater pump stations have been inundated with stormwater inflow and the network has been unable to keep up with the additional load.

This is despite the council having recently upgraded the pump stations at Rua Ave and Forest Rd, enabling them to triple their pumping capacity, and making upgrades to wastewater treatment plants.

Horowhenua District Council contractors were out most of Sunday night and Monday morning with sucker trucks trying to relieve the pressure on the network.

However, holding and irrigation ponds in Te Awahou Foxton and Waita¯rere were reportedly at 100 per cent capacity by then.

As a last resort, council advised iwi and Horizons Regional Council, that partially treated wastewater had been released into the Manawatu¯ River in Te Awahou Foxton.

The Waita¯rere network came close to untreated effluent having to be released from holding ponds onto the ground as the access water would have compromised the pump house, causing irreversible damage to facilities and a breach of council’s resource consent.

Chief executive Monique Davidson said on Monday: “The current situation is unprecedented, with weather conditions putting significant strain on our community, our people and our networks.

“We’re grateful to our community for their help and understanding, as our teams work to mitigate the impacts of recent weather events.”