Should we do more to maintain our drains?
9 October 2014
Waipa District Council are considering doing more to maintain the 240km of public drains across the district, which they are responsible to maintain.
Currently only a small portion of the public drains are inspected and cleaned each year at an annual cost of $90,000. In response to feedback from the community, councillors are exploring options for increasing the drain maintenance service and the costs involved.
The option preferred by Council is to increase the level of service for the public drains to be similar to that of the Waikato Regional Council. This would mean all public drains would be inspected and sprayed each year and a small portion would be cleaned at a cost of $322,000 per year to get the drains to an appropriate standard. After the second year funding would decrease slightly as less maintenance would be required. This increased level of service would resolve issues such as blocked drains and flooding that occurs during heavy rainfall.
Council's Water Services Manager, Lorraine Kendrick presented the various options and financial impacts to councillors at a meeting recently.
In response to feedback from the community, Council wanted to explore whether we could increase the service and at what cost. Council's preferred option would cost just over $300,000 for the first couple of years, and then the cost should decrease for the coming years.
The cost of drain maintenance is currently funded through a rural stormwater targeted rate.
Council will be asking the community for their feedback on the increased level of service option before including it in the Long Term Plan which will go out for consultation next year.
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For more information please contact Stephanie Slattery on 027 807 3478