Waikato Council watchdog, John Lawson, is calling on the Waikato District Council to fix the Raglan Wastewater Treatment plant before it connects more properties to the new Whaanga Coast sewer.
The Council commissioned independent consultants to check six treatment plants after receiving notice in a compliance report from Waikato Regional Council. This was followed by an operational review of all plants by BECA Consulting. That review identified the Raglan Wastewater plant as having an overall risk score of 4.1 out of 5.0. (0 being low risk and 5 being high risk.)
As the Raglan plant had the highest risk score, a further workshop was held solely looking at the issues at the Raglan Wastewater plant. This found that the major risks were associated with the anaerobic ponds and the control/electrical systems.
General Manager Service Delivery, Tim Harty, told councillors on the Infrastructure Committee, “Further work is underway to determine the next steps with the plant and a programme of works going forward.”
John Lawson said, “With the anaerobic ponds and control systems the highest risk. Just the place to add more sewage from Whaanga coast!”
Waikato District Council has announced that it already has 12 properties connected to the new system and fully operational. So extra sewage is already flowing into the Raglan Wastewater plant. It is expected that about 120 properties will connect to the scheme.