Water upgrades must be user-pays projects

By Councillor Aidan Ellims

I want to cover two topics: first, the Greytown Water Treatment Plant consultation we are doing this month and then SUIP’s which have been a topic of conversation over the last month or so.

Firstly, 30 percent of Greytown’s water supply comes from a bore in Soldiers Memorial Park.

That bore/treatment plant are in poor condition and needs to be replaced. Consequently all ratepayers connected to our water supply/treatment plants will contribute to the funding of this project either via a District targeted rate, (Martinborough, Featherston and Greytown ratepayers) or a Local targeted for Greytown ratepayers.

There are three options on where the new bores/treatment plant should be placed in Greytown and Council need your input on where they should go, taking into consideration the costs for each option.

The first option within Memorial Park, where a new bore will be drilled and the water treatment plant with an estimated cost between $3.3m to $4m. The cost is between $66 and $80 per ratepayer, per year either by a District targeted rate or a mix of District targeted rate.

A District targeted rate means that all ratepayers across the whole South Wairarapa connected to town water supply will pay towards this project.

The second option is to use the old Borough Council yard on West Street where two new bores would be drilled and the water treatment plant installed at a cost of between $5.8m – $6.8m, That would be be between $116 and $136 per ratepayer, per year for a District wide targeted rate.

For a mix of Local targeted rates and a District rate, Greytown ratepayers would pay between $214-$246 per year, while ratepayers elsewhere would pay between $66 – $80 per annum.

The Local targeted rate for this project is where Greytown ratepayers who are connected to the town water supply and receive benefit of this project will pay/contribute towards it.

The third option: buy land at the northern end of Kuratawhiti Street to drill two new bores and install the treatment plant. The estimated cost: between $6.1m – $7.3m. If this was paid for by a District targeted rate, all ratepayers across the District would pay between $122 to $146 per year.

If this was paid for by a mix of Local and District targeted rates, Greytown ratepayers would pay between $232 to $275 per year, the rest of the District between $66 – $80 per year.

If Memorial Park was chosen, the timeframe for consent and build would be 1 – 2 years, Option 2, could take 2 – 3 years and Option 3, Kuratawhiti Street 3 – 5 years.

Further information: (swdc.govt.nz/wp-content/uploads/Greytown-Water-Consultation-SoP.pdf) which has a section for your feedback.

Remember this will only be funded by ratepayers connected to town water supplies in Featherston, Martinborough and Greytown, so it’s important for all ratepayers provide feedback on where the bores and water treatment plant should go, and how it will be funded.

Martinborough residents have the opportunity to provide a submission, so please do so before the 9 October.

Separately Used or Inhabited Parts premises _ SUIP’s _ have been a topic of discussion lately. SWDC has used this mechanism in their rates calculations since 2015 to collect targeted rates for waste water and drinking water supplies. Rates for refuse/recycling have also been collected by SUIP’s. Many many Councils across NZ are using SUIP’s _ they are not a new thing.

As a result of the 2023 Rating Review, Councillors decided to rate short-term accommodation providers using SUIP’s so that visitors to our District would help share the cost of upgrading our infrastructure ie: water supply, waste water and roading.

Since making these decisions, ratepayers have spoken to Council about inaccuracies in how the SUIP’s have been applied. The reason for this is that information held by Council and our valuers QV is inaccurate and not matching. 

To address this, Council is carrying out a review to check information that held by Council against what is actually on properties across the District to cross-check with data held by QV.

This review will provide assurance to Councillor’s and ratepayers that SUIP’s are being correctly charged going forward.

Finally, I would just like to address one of many comments that have been on social media recently about Council and the implementation of SUIP’s. One comment mentioned that “council are looking for money as they have no development money coming in from two town no builds.” This statement is incorrect. There has been no discussions of the sort between Councillors or Council staff.

In the 2016 and 2017 Annual Plan consultation documents, Councillors proposed to keep rate increases at 3% and 3.75% and planned to defer renewal programmes to replace underground water and wastewater pipes for those years and years into the future. 

While those decisions benefitted ratepayers then, our whole community is now facing the consequences of that thinking.

If you would like to ask questions about SUIP’s or the review project, contact me via email: aidan.ellims@swdc.govt.nz