Ultimatum on septic tanks

By Graham Skellern
Residents in established Te Puna West are facing the ultimatum of cleaning out their septic tanks by the end of next week.
For the past 3 1/2 years the residents have been on a voluntary septic tank maintenance programme, imposed by Environment Bay of Plenty, to reduce seepage into the nearby harbour.
But the regional council is putting them on a compulsory programme from June 1, along with the Ongare Point community. Paul Futter, Environment BOP's senior project implementation officer, said more than 80 of the 136 septic tanks at Te Puna had already been checked and cleaned out - at a cost of nearly $300.
"While the majority of people are willing to maintain their tanks, there are some who don't want to play the game - and to keep a level playing field we have made it compulsory," he said.
It means that after June 1 residents will have to get their septic tanks cleaned every three years - or six years if they have fitted a solids filter.
Mr Futter said the council will follow up those residents who haven't had their tanks checked.
There are 40 septic tanks at Ongare Point, north of Katikati, and they need to be professionally cleaned and inspected by December 1 this year.
Mr Futter said many septic tank systems in the Bay were very old and basic - and in some areas they were causing quite serious problems with bacteria and nutrients leaching into nearby waterways and degrading water quality.
More and more people were deciding to live permanently in the coastal areas and the problem was being accentuated, he said.
Te Puna West and Ongare Point were not extreme cases but a compulsory programme would at least help protect the environment until new standards were introduced, said Mr Futter.
The regular maintenance and inspections also enabled the regional council to understand where the seepage was originating from and what could be done to fix the problem.
Under a revised On-Site Effluent Treatment regional plan, Environment BOP is creating new rules for the sensitive areas.
Residents in specific locations will have to either upgrade their septic tanks or apply for a resource consent within the next four to eight years, Mr Futter explained.