Ongare Point wastewater scheme approved

A new treatment plant for managing wastewater from these properties will be built on rural land next to the urban zone.

The on-site wastewater storage chamber will be built with a discharge pump for conveying the wastewater liquid to a centralised treatment site.

To date a community vote has returned support from 62 percent of residents and this is expected to rise when voting closes. Council required consensus from 50 percent of residents for the scheme to proceed.

There is also strong support from residents to pay up front per property, with a small minority preferring to go for the longer term 15-year pay-off at $1570 per year.

Expected landowner contribution to the scheme will be between $14,800-$15,800 (including GST), which is similar to the recently approved Te Puna West wastewater scheme.

The estimated $2.8 million scheme will be funded from Western Bay Council, Bay of Plenty Regional Council, with property owners funding the balance of $930,000 including GST.

Project costs for the scheme cannot be finalised until the contract has been tendered out and site investigations completed.