Porirua faces potential 17.5% rates rise, flood projects delay
Tuesday, 26 March 2024
Water meters could arrive in Porirua in 2028, but flood reduction and stormwater projects could be put on the backburner by the Porirua City Council to clamp down rates rises.
A Plimmerton group formed after the area’s 2020 floods to lobby for better stormwater infrastructure was disappointed in any delays, saying lots of good work could “fade to nothing”.
The council’s draft three-year Long Term Plan, which goes out for consultation on Tuesday until April 26, is proposing an average rates increase of 17.5%, saying it had made $4 million of savings and “pulled every lever and used every tool available” to keep the figure low without cutting its services.
It suggests pushing back projects to cut $155m of expenses, including the flood retreat policy developed after the Plimmerton floods in late 2020 to relocate the city’s most flood-prone homes, or upgrades to prevent Te Hiko St in Takapūwāhia from flooding during a storm.
Other potentially delayed initiatives include flood reduction projects at Karehana Bay and Taupō Wetlands, replacing old wastewater infrastructure at Paremata, new shared pathways and a resource recovery park and facility processing organic waste at Spicer Landfill.
The consultation document also outlined projects that the council could potentially take on, like installing water meters for Porirua households starting four years later, introducing kerbside rubbish collection to prevent recycling contamination in 2028, and a new cemetery for when Whenua Tapu reaches capacity in 12 years.
“We’ll do what we can – when we replace stormwater pipes we will make sure they are bigger than existing pipes – but we’re going to have to accept an elevated level of risk of flooding and slips,” according to the document.
Grace Allum, a spokesperson from Plimmerton Flood Action Group, said a lot had been done on flood reduction since the 2020 floods like on studies and designs.
“I get it, but it’s extremely disappointing, especially given how much good work from good people at Wellington Water, Porirua City Council and the community has put into it,” she said.
Mayor Anita Baker, who backed introducing water metering to the Wellington region, said the council proposed delaying stormwater projects because of spiralling costs, and it wanted to prioritise fixing the city’s drinking water and wastewater infrastructure.
“We had that big break in Bothamley Park two weeks ago when we had sewage in the harbour so we’re investing hugely,” she said.
“We were heavily investing in those two waters rather than the third — we got quotes for stormwater, those costs have gone up significantly.”
She also said the increase was in line with other councils across the country and the city needed to hold fast on its focus on water infrastructure, previously saying the council was staring down a financial “nightmare” over the uncertainty of water reforms.
'Our plan proposes to spend 55% of our budget on three waters infrastructure. In the next year, this spending will fund the new wastewater storage tank that’s underway in the CBD to protect our harbour,“ she said.