Newsletter - 26 October

Who would have thought that since the last time I wrote to you, a hole the size of a tennis court would have appeared in Parnell. That lead to a 25-metre-long blockage in the Ōrākei Main Sewer and resulted in millions of litres of wastewater overflow (sewage) flowing into the Waitematā harbour!

In this newsletter, I will talk about the broken sewer, what happened, and what is being done to fix it. I will also explain the unanimous decision that was made a few weeks ago in relation to storm recovery and Category 3 buyout.

So, let’s start with the broken Ōrākei Main sewer.

Since the floods, we have had a number of ‘tomo’ or sinkholes.   A tomo is an “area of underground erosion (not always visible) caused by the scouring action of water, often around a fixed object such as a pipe or manhole. A tomo may also be caused by soil entering a crack in a pipe and slowly forming a void.”

Now we know the definition, what happened in Parnell?    A hole (tomo) appeared in a carpark on lower St Georges Bay Road and rapidly grew 20 metres wide and 13 metres deep. A part of the Ōrākei Main sewer pipe is directly underneath this hole. The pipe is from the 1920s, where the bottom is made of cast iron and the top of it bricked in an arched shape. The sewer pipe became blocked when the land above it caved in. The Ōrākei Main Sewer is a major artery of Auckland’s sewerage network that services parts of central and west Auckland and when the sewage could not pass through the pipe, it backed up causing millions of litres of wastewater overflow(sewage) to spill into the harbour (noting if it didn’t overflow there it would back up into homes, businesses, parks and streets).

This is as serious as it gets for Watercare- it’s called a level 3 issue. The highest concern. Stopping the overflow, clearing the blockage, and repairing the pipe has been an absolute priority. There have been daily updates with elected members, multiple organisations and teams working together to fix this huge and complex issue. The team have worked around the clock and completed a temporary bypass on  17 October. Basically, directing the sewage from the manhole before the blockage to the manhole after the blockage. However, clearing the blockage itself could take several weeks and the pipe’s long-term repair is likely to still be several months away. This means the temporary wastewater bypass solution may be in place for quite some time. The bypass is a HUGE engineering project that would usually take weeks/ months to plan and even longer to deliver.  The bypass consists of around 400 metres of pipe being laid and six pumps being put in an eight-metre-deep hole to direct sewage away from the broken section.

Watercare have signalled that there will be an independent review about the “how” and the “why” this happened so let’s wait and see whether this was in fact due to a long spell of terrible weather, under investment in infrastructure or both.

Throughout this process, my concern has been about the impact the sewage overflows have had on water quality. The overflows entered the harbour at a location at the western end of Wynyard Basin, and at two locations near the ports at Mechanics Bay. Depending on the level of contamination and physical conditions - tides, winds, currents, sunlight – water quality at some beaches may return to normal faster than others.

The Waitematā Harbour is treasured by all Aucklanders.

Healthy Waters, a council department, has been testing the water quality on a daily basis, alongside an independent scientist.  An array of bacteria that could cause ill health are being tested for and monitored. That is why the advice has been to stay off the beach, out the water and not do any recreational activities on the water.  If the water is contaminated, then it is not safe to swim in and a beach is black flagged.  Beaches are not physically closed, so please look out for the signage, and check on safeswim.org.nz. This website has the most up to date information about the water quality and a colour coded pin system for beaches.

Until this issue is resolved, I have some key messages:

1. Temporary pipes are not as strong as permanent pipes. Please only put the 3 P’s down your toilet. Pee, Poo and (toilet) paper

2. Please DO NOT fish or gather shellfish  in the inner harbour until public health advises it is safe ( you can check this on the Auckland Regional Public Health service website https://www.arphs.health.nz/news/sewage-in-the-waitemata-harbour-public-health-advice/)

3. Check the Safeswim website before you swim and if your beach has a black flag please DO NOT go in the water

4. If you have been in the water and you have sickness symptoms, please call Healthline on 0800 611 116.

 

It is great to end this newsletter with some better news.

Friday 6 October was a critical junction in Auckland’s storm recovery process. It was a moment many storm affected property owners were waiting for, as the Governing Body meeting was about whether the council would accept the $2 billion cost sharing deal with the Crown in relation to category 3 buyouts and storm recovery.  I am happy to report that a unanimous decision was made. After taking on board public consultation feedback (83% of consultees supported the deal) and having a free and frank discussion about setting the policy levers in relation to the buyout, everyone around the town hall table were in agreement that where we landed was as fair and equitable as possible.

The definition of Category 3 is “areas in the high-risk category are not safe to live in because of the unacceptable risk of future flooding and loss of life. Homes in these areas should not be rebuilt on their current sites”. In this category we estimate that there are around 700 properties in Auckland. Some of these properties were severely damaged in the floods/ land slips and others have been identified due to the “future risk” of flooding. 

As part of this decision, Governing Body agreed to five key areas of policy settings that will influence how Category 3 buyout offers will work.

1.      Valuation methodology

2.      Maximum buyout cap

3.      Homeowner contribution

4.      Insurance status

5.      Secondary properties

What was agreed. In layman terms: A pre-weather event market valuation will determine the starting point for the buyout offer. This was considered the most accurate and fair approach for all storm affected property owners.

Under the details of the agreed approach, insured Category 3 homeowners will be offered 95% of the pre-flood market value of their property. The remaining 5% of the property value will operate like an insurance excess.

Uninsured Category 3 property owners will be offered at least 80% of the pre-flood market value of their property, which may be increased up to a maximum of 95% subject to considering the special circumstances of those property owners.

Special circumstances will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Broadly, ‘special circumstances’ refers to an extraordinary situation that led to the homeowner not being able to have insurance cover.

The Governing Body agreed in principle to a dispute process that has both an internal and external review component. The council’s legal team will be developing this dispute process further and will present it to councillors for endorsement.

It was really important that we could work at pace in regard to buy outs. Therefore, the council expect to begin conversations with Category 3 homeowners at the end of October. This is the timeline we have been signalling for some time.

I have met with storm affected property owners and groups representing storm affected property owners from Remuera to Ranui and Mt Eden to Muriwai and I understand that the decision that was made may provide some assurance, but there are many hurdles with insurance companies and EQC that they are having to face. Just so you are aware the Recovery Office has recruited some new positions to make this process smoother. There will be navigators – this role came about from the Christchurch earthquakes. The navigator will be able to advise, and connect property owners to the right organisation, and people whether it is about insurance, temporary housing or rates relief, by way of example. Currently there are 17 in post, with the aim of recruiting 10 more people (of the 37 posts, 24 are funded via central government).

Lastly, a local piece of positive news:

·         Gowing Drive connection to the Meadowbank section of the Glen Innes to Tāmaki Drive cycleway.  A few weeks ago, Auckland Transport told us that this connection was unfunded and unlikely to progress. However, after many conversations with AT about the importance of the connection for my ward, AT have confirmed that the project will go to the AT board before the end of 2023 for funding confirmation. The new intended timeline for these works – an underpass will be installed Christmas 2024. I know this is later that we all had hoped but still very welcome news.

Desley