East Rotoiti | Rotomā Sewerage Scheme

A letter was posted to East Rotoiti residents on 4 October 2021 to provide an update on the next steps for the installation of pre-treatment systems on 450 properties in the area.

The letter includes information about:

• the Biolytix BF2 Eco Pod system that has been selected as the on-site pre-treatment system for Rotoiti.
• the installation process for each property.
• reminders about system cost. Full actual costs will not be known until the scheme is completed (likely 2023).

Site visits are due to begin in October 2021 and Council staffmembers will be contacting owners to arrange those visits. Due to the large number of properties, it may be some time before owners hear from Council.

Click here to read the full update letter.

Landowners in East Rotoiti will be receiving letters to let them know that following a thorough and robust process, an on-site pre-treatment system has now been selected for East Rotoiti.

The awarded system for East Rotoiti is Biolytix BF2. This is the system that best meets the required performance criteria including operation effectiveness, system safety, effluent performance, cultural alignment and long-term cost effectiveness,

On 28 June 2021 Council agreed to award a contract for:

The supply and installation of Biolytix BF2 systems on some 450 properties in East Rotoiti (from Curtis Road to Tamatea Street) including connecting the secondary pipelines networks to the mains that are already in place and appropriate reinstatement works for each property;

• The operation, management and maintenance of the Biolytix on-site systems for a term of 15 years;
• Supply and installation of the same system for Rotoehu/Ngāmotu but subject to additional funding from the Ministry for the Environment granted to that effect. The funding request was lodged in May 2021. (The possible inclusion of Rotoehu/Ngāmotu in the overall scheme will be designed to not add additional costs to the Rotoiti/Rotomā ratepayers and will funded by those communities’ ratepayers on similar basis as the Rotoiti/Rotomā ratepayers)

It is expected that the contract will commence in August/September this year (2021), and will be implemented over about two years.

The final net capital funding costs to be charged to the local property owners will be decided by the Council once the project nears full completion and once the Minister for the Environment has responded to the funding request for the Rotoehu/Ngāmotu communities.

Landowners will receive more detailed information about work on or near their property. This information will provide contact point and future opportunities for public meetings as well as project updates. Each landowner will also be contacted directly by the contractor or council’s Site Engineer to agree on specific site details prior to any on-site works starting.

Read the full update to landowners HERE

You’re invited to attend an Open Day at the Rotoiti Sports Club, there are four time slots available for you to choose from.

Please note the first three sessions include presentations, a site visit and Q&A opportunity. The fourth session includes presentations and Q&A only.

Date: Saturday, 09 January 2021

Time slots: 9am, 11am, 1.30pm, 3.30pm (presentation and Q&A only)

Venue: Rotoiti Sports Club

RSVP: Phill Thomass

Email: rlcb@thomass.net

Please include your lake property address and contact phone number in addition to your preferred time slot. Please note numbers for the site visit are limited to 25 per session.

Representatives from the Rotorua Lakes Community Board, the Ngāti Pikiao Cultural Impacts Team, the Rotorua Lakes Council, and Trility (WWTP Contractors) will provide an update, and answer any questions participants might have.

Each session will consist of a:

• Cultural Health and Safety Induction
• Presentation from each of the organisations above
• Q and A time
• Wastewater Treatment Plant site visit

You’ll have the option to visit the wastewater treatment plant in groups of 25; bus transport will be provided for this. If you’d like to book a seat, please remember to let us know which time slot you prefer when you RSVP.

Every person visiting the wastewater treatment plant site is required to undertake a Cultural Health and Safety Induction.

Light refreshments will be available.

We hope to see you there.

Current Scheme Status

The scheme aims to provide the community with an essential service to responsibly dispose of human waste in a way that is environmentally and culturally appropriate. The scheme includes a Wastewater Treatment Plant, behind the Rotoiti Emery Store, and a reticulation network from the plant to cater for homes in Rotomā and east Rotoiti.

The treatment plant is now operating and treating wastewater to the required standard. Rotoma properties are now connected to the reticulation network.

Tenders for an on-site wastewater pre-treatment system to be installed at properties in east Rotoiti, will be undertaken over the next 3 months. Following appointment of a contractor and system Council will engage directly with property owners regarding site location and other relevant site matters. This can only be done after it is known what system will be installed.

Properties will then gradually be connected to the Rotoiti network which has now been largely completed. The contractor undertaking this work will demobilise from site.

Rotorua Lakes Council supports a full wastewater reticulation and treatment scheme that serves all Lake Rotoehu properties including Kennedy Bay and Ōtautū in future. This will be dependent on securing funding.

12 August 2019

East Rotoiti | Rotomā Wastewater Treatment Plant commissioning

Today saw the official commissioning of the East Rotoiti | Rotomā Wastewater Treatment Plant.

This included a pōhiri at Taurua Marae with key stakeholders and a tour of the new plant.

The plant is scheduled to accept wastewater later this month.

The construction of the wastewater treatment plant is part of the East Rotoiti | Rotomā Sewerage Scheme. The scheme is part of the Lakes Enhancement Programme jointly managed by the Te Arawa Lakes Trust, Bay of Plenty Regional Council and Rotorua Lakes Council. The scheme demonstrates Council’s commitment to work with partners to improve the water quality of Rotorua’s lakes which have been slowly deteriorating over a number of years. The degradation of water quality is a result of nutrient and bacterial inputs from septic tanks, farming and soil erosion in surrounding areas.

The sewerage scheme aims to protect and improve the health of the lakes and individual properties in the area by providing the community with an essential service to responsibly dispose of wastewatwr in a way that is environmentally and culturally appropriate.

At the commissioning, Rotorua Mayor Steve Chadwick spoke about the history of the complex project and the positive outcome that has resulted.

“The health of our water is about the health of the people and the health of the land, and today marks a key milestone on this journey.

“Sustainability and how we look after our natural assets couldn’t be more important to us as a Council. As we look to the future, we are so dependent on the good health of our lakes.

“Conversations to improve the water quality of our lakes began a long time ago. Lake Rotoiti was identified as one of our most vulnerable lakes and the discussions that followed sparked the growth and strengthening of Council’s relationship with iwi.

“Working in partnership is enormously important as we continue down this path. The work under way here in Rotoiti to protect our water and land is both deeply spiritual and enormously practical, and it is symbolic of the investment in our relationship with iwi.”

The East Rotoiti | Rotomā Sewerage Scheme project has been led by the Rotoiti Rotomā Sewerage Steering Committee since its inception in 2014 after Council's resource consent for its chosen scheme, at the time, failed in the Environment Court in 2012.

Since then, finding preferred options for the community has been a collaborative effort by Rotorua Lakes Council, and local iwi. The Bay of Plenty Regional Council, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry for the Environment supported the scheme financially in recognition of the environmental and public health benefits of the scheme.

The scheme involves the construction of the Wastewater Treatment Plant behind the Rotoiti Emery Store and the installation of a reticulation network to the plant to cater for homes in Rotomā and east Rotoiti.

Rotomā properties will initially be connected to the reticulation network via the on-site Septic Tank Effluent Pumping (STEP) systems that they have previously had installed. An on-site wastewater pre-treatment system will later be installed at properties in east Rotoiti. These properties will then also be connected to the reticulation network which runs to the wastewater treatment plant.

To date, $24.5 million of a $35.3 million budget has been invested in the project.

Rotorua Lakes Council supports a full wastewater reticulation and treatment scheme that serves all Lake Rotoehu properties including Kennedy and Ōtautū Bays in the future. This will be dependent on securing funding.

5 August 2019

Construction of the East Rotoiti | Rotomā wastewater treatment plant

A significant component of the East Rotoiti | Rotomā wastewater scheme is nearing completion with the treatment plant due to be commissioned, and the Rotomā area ready to be switched over to operate on the new system.

Mid-August will see the commissioning (testing) phase of the plant commence and receive wastewater from the Rotomā area. The official opening of the plant will be held on 12 August 2019. This will include a pōhiri at Taurua Marae and a tour of the new plant. The plant will accept wastewater shortly after that date.

Currently the plant is undergoing testing to ensure all components are working as designed. Once the plant is deemed to be functioning correctly the commissioning of the plant with wastewater will begin. When this happens, properties at Rotomā with Septic Tank Effluent Pre-treatment (STEP) tanks installed will be transferred to the new wastewater system. The switchover phase will take around two months to complete. Contractors will need to revisit sites to switch over to the new system and decommission the existing system. Around 190 of the 212 properties at Rotomā are expected to be operating on the new system within about two months of commissioning.

You can see photos here.

Reticulation

The Rotomā reticulation (network of pipes) is now complete. The system has been pressure tested and is ready to commission once the plant is operational.

The Rotoiti component of the reticulation project which will extend to Tapuaekura Marae at the end of Curtis Road is now underway.

The East Rotoiti | Rotomā Sewerage Scheme aims to eventually expand and connect the Lake Rotoehu community.

Other news

So far 153 STEP tanks have been installed on properties in Rotomā.

Kōmuhumuhu (Gisborne Point) has been identified as an area of archaeological significance by Heritage New Zealand. Council has sent letters to affected home owners seeking consent to investigate the site further in the event of a significant archaeological find while work is underway. At the same time Council is also seeking consent to install on-site pre-treatment systems on their properties.

District sewerage schemes – East Rotoiti/Rotomā – targeted rates

Council committed in the 2017/18 Annual Plan to a reticulated sewerage scheme for East Rotoiti/Rotomā following engagement with the community. With significant support from the community the scheme has proceeded. There are approximately 700 properties in the service area for this scheme, which will replace current on-site systems.

The wastewater treatment plant will treat wastewater to a very high standard before it is discharged to land. This will limit the amount of nutrients entering the lake.

The total estimated capital cost of the scheme is $35.3 million, largely funded by subsidies from Ministry of Health, Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Ministry for the Environment and Rotorua Lakes Council. The balance of the capital cost of constructing this system will be repaid by the ratepayers receiving the service through targeted rates.

A targeted rate to fund the operational costs of the new scheme will commence in the 2020/21 year.

Eventually all properties in the scheme area will commence payment towards the capital contribution, either by making an upfront payment of $14,100 (GST inclusive) or $1,080 (GST inclusive) per annum over 25 years. The final capital contribution is subject to the final project cost with Council working hard to ensure costs are within estimates provided to the community.

More information on rates is available HERE.

If you would like to keep up to date with this project visit: www.rotorualakescouncil.nz/rotoitirotoma

Click on the image above to see the latest update about the construction of the East Rotoiti | Rotomā Sewerage Scheme.

Click on the image above to see the latest update on the East Rotoiti | Rotomā Sewerage Scheme including:

A meeting to update the lakes community about progress on constructing the East Rotoiti | Rotomā Sewerage Scheme is scheduled to take place next month at the Rotoiti Sports Club.

The hui will happen at 10am on Saturday, 19 January 2019.

Residents in Rotoiti and Rotomā are invited to attend the meeting which will cover:

• Progress on the scheme including construction of the Wastewater Treatment Plant in Rotoiti, reticulation network and installing the on-site Septic Tank Effluent Pumping (STEP) system in Rotomā
• Expected timeline milestones for the project
• Current financial position of the project and issues; as well as
• The process Council intends to follow to ensure all properties of Rotoiti and Rotomā are connected to the network

If you'd like to see this month's full progress update, click on the image below.

Please remember to subscribe to www.rotorualakescouncil.nz/rotoitirotoma to keep up-to-date with this project.

29 November 2018 - Rotoiti and Rotomā residents and ratepayers are invited to a public community meeting about progress on a sewerage scheme for both lake communities.

The hui is set down for:

• Saturday (01 December, 2018) at 3pm
• The venue is the Rotomā Community Hall

The meeting, requested by the Rotomā Residents Association and the Rotorua Lakes Community Board, will cover:

• Progress on construction of the scheme
• Progress on installing an on-site Septic Tank Effluent Pre-treatment system as well as issues and questions
• Estimated timeframe to connect Rotomā to the new Wastewater Treatment Plant in Rotoiti; and
• Possible timeframe when residents and ratepayers, who are connected to the new scheme, are likely to pay for the targeted levy

Another public hui, updating the community on progress to connect ratepayers and residents in Rotoiti to the scheme, will be held in the new year.

Click on the photo below to see the full update of what will be covered at the public meeting on Saturday, along with images and video of progress in the scheme.

Horizontal directional drill that's being used to lay the reticulation line between Rotomā and Rotoiti.