We know that everyone in North Shore City wants the wastewater problems fixed. Because improving the performance of the sewer network is complex, the solutions are costly and will take time.

Insufficient rates were collected in the past to pay for renewing the system. Funds from the sale of airport shares were used to repay debt and to fund capital projects that would normally have been funded by loans. Developer levies are not adequate as most of the cost of the wastewater system upgrades is for upgrading the existing sewer network.

Residents, ratepayers and future generations living in North Shore City will fund the improvements.

We undertook extensive community consultation because of the large costs involved in improving the wastewater system and we also had to make choices that relate to other city projects, such as acquiring new parks and improving public transport.

We asked the community to help us answer the following questions:

• What level of beach water quality are we seeking?

• How much money are we willing to spend?

• How fast can we afford to spend it?

Following our investigation work into the sewer network performance, we developed several improvement options to present to residents and ratepayers. We asked the community to tell us their views in several ways:

• We spoke with 100 people on the streets of North Shore City and spoke in depth about the problems to another 30

• We spoke with hundreds of people at displays and public meetings around the city

• We met with interest groups, such as Grey Power

• We consulted with iwi

• We delivered a feedback form to all North Shore ratepayers.

Information on the sewer network improvement options (107 KB)

Public feedback

More than 1,500 people returned the feedback form we delivered and shared their views. The following table outlines the various options we presented and provides a breakdown of the levels of support for each option.

Option	No. of people	Percentage
Recommended option 65 per cent improvement over 20 years average annual rates = $740	814	53
65 per cent improvement over 10 years average annual rate = $770	162	11
70 per cent improvement over 20 years average annual rate = $750	41	2.5
80 per cent improvement	50	3
100 per cent improvement	20	1
Do it faster than 20 years but no specified timeframe or improvement level	39	3
50 per cent improvement over 20 years average annual rate = $730	7	0.5

We got the message loud and clear – about half of respondents told us they supported our recommendation to target a 65 per cent improvement in beach water quality and another fifth recommended spending more to achieve a greater improvement, or to ‘do the job faster’. Another fifth didn’t support the proposal.

Other key points from the community consultation:

• Beach water quality is clearly one of the city’s most important issues and a basic health need. A number of people told us to make wastewater (sewerage) top priority for now and reduce spending on less essential projects rather than increasing the rates. Some of you told us again to "get on with the job".

• Some believe new subdivisions and infill housing are a big cause of the problem and want developers to pay more of the costs in servicing development. Some suggested that growth should stop or at least be delayed until the sewer network is able to cope.

• A number (6 per cent) thought alternative technology was a good idea at the right time, others suggested that council had not done enough to assess alternative technologies. Some people (3.5 per cent) asked us to address stormwater at the same time because of its significant effect on beach water quality.

• Some (3 per cent) asked us to be fair and reasonable in how we calculate the rates. Another group (3.6 per cent) said they could not afford this sort of rates increase. There was some concern by others about the ability of everyone to pay.

• A number sought reassurance that we choose the safest and most effective solution at the best price and that council would continue to fund improvements in the system until the target beach water quality is achieved.