Drought keeps tip on track

One man's drought is another's dream run.
Construction manager Mike Burr sympathises with farmers and growers but says Northland's long dry spell has been "a dream run" for building Whangarei district's new  $10million landfill site for non-hazardous solid waste.
Construction began  in October after extensive consultation with archaeologists and iwi. The site is a valley at Puwera, 8.5km south of the city,  on the private Marasumi Rd on State Highway 1.
Twelve earth-moving machines are shifting about 150,000cu m  of earth, levelling a hill and creating a series of large and small drainage ponds to store and filter stormwater. Eighty thousand square metres of protective lining; 17,000cu m  of drainage stone and hundreds of metres of pipes form the protection system which will contain the leachates from the waste as it breaks down into a liquid, for treatment off-site.
Mr Burr said landfill sites were now subject to stringent environmental protection requirements, supervised by environmental engineers. The standards were "not hard to achieve, you have just put the right structures in place from day one".
He said the benefit from the long sunny days had been underpinned by good working relationships between all parties.
The site is being developed as a joint venture between the Whangarei District Council  and Northland Waste, as a council-controlled trading organisation - a clear ratepayer preference during the submission process on solid waste disposal options last year.
The council has financed its share of the joint venture by selling a half-share in the Re:Sort recycling centre and the landfill site to its partner, Northland Waste.
The partners  will also operate the "super-dump" and the Re:Sort recycling centre. The WDC is paying to have the waste trucked  to Redvale landfill in Rodney.
The WDC says solid waste collection and disposal fees are not likely to change significantly from the current rates, which are based on market rates (once the new dump opens).
Puwera will provide for about 35 years of waste disposal capacity or longer if waste minimisation targets are achieved.
 
 Read how Northland Waste is under fire from controversial Wanganui Mayor Michael Laws, in the Advocate business section on Monday.