Council improves system resilience

A suite of recovery and resilience projects underway in Kaipara District is set to benefit from more than half a million dollars in central government funds.

 A set of new toilets for Baylys Beach goers were officially blessed and opened to the public late last week.

Council has approved a procurement plan to appoint a contractor for the Dargaville Town Hall Project. Keen contractors will soon be able to register Expressions of Interest.

Kaipara District Council and Whangarei District Council are developing a joint panel of contractors to complete the remaining emergency recovery repairs, helping to save money and time for both councils.

From 1 July Molesworth Drive southbound traffic will be diverted around Moir Point Road/Seabreeze Road for approximately three weeks.

Close to 100 people came together at the southern tip of the Pouto Peninsula to celebrate the opening of a new wharf in Kaipara.

Stage one of a plan to expand Mangawhai’s wastewater capacity is complete, and stage two is well underway, catering for projected community growth to at least 2030. 

More than $3.2million of external funding will be redirected into Kaipara District’s waters infrastructure budget after Council deciding to redirect existing uncommitted Better Off and Transition Support funding.

New toilets are on the way for Baylys Beach, to provide safe and accessible facilities for the community and visitors. 

Molesworth Drive has been a hive of activity, with crew working on the third phase of the shared path spread across different zones.

Kaipara District Council contractors Ventia have completed another significant road repair, this time in Maungaturoto.

Water restrictions have been lifted for properties on town supply in Dargaville and Baylys Beach.

Dargaville and Baylys Beach residents have responded to the call to preserve water under Level 3 water restrictions.

Work on Pouto wharf has been progressing well during weather and tidal windows, with the crew taking every opportunity to complete piling works, concreting, and install bearers. With most of the piles now in place, the crew are focused on completing the bracing and joists over the next fortnight.

Residents in Dargaville and Baylys Beach are urged to reduce water use after use has risen slightly since Level 3 water restrictions came into force on 12 February.

Two bridges in Tangiteroria will undergo essential works this year to improve safety and restore full vehicle access, resulting in temporary closures on Omana Road and Pukehuia Road.

Water restrictions have been introduced for Dargaville and surrounds, with residents across the entire Kaipara district being urged to use the precious resource wisely.

Works on the next phase of the Mangawhai shared path kick off 7 February. 

Our district is buzzing with summer. Everywhere I go in Kaipara our communities and our many visitors can be seen making the most of these sunshine hours.

Tinopai wharf is currently closed due to significant deterioration and structural damage. 

New facilities are on the cards for Pine Beach campground at Taharoa Domain. 

Replacement of Dargaville’s Northern Wairoa War Memorial Hall Annex after its demolished is to get a hurry-along with an Elected Member working group established to give the project more focus.

A motion moved by Kaipara District Council Mayor Jepson has paused the Ruawai Adaptive Pathways programme until the public has had their say through the next Long Term Plan consultation.

We have now finalised the design for Wood Street. A huge thanks to everyone who has been involved over the years and through the design trials to get to this permanent design.

Another round of weather events, including ex-Cyclone Lola, has affected works on Poutō wharf and extended the completion date out to the end of the summer. 

Elected Members agreed to commence the first two stages of a multi-year project to increase the capacity of the Mangawhai Wastewater Scheme.

A recent decision by Kaipara District Council has given Fagan Place community housing tenants assurance on a way forward for new warm, dry, modern and healthy homes. 

Kaipara is set to benefit from $2.6 million recently announced by the Government to boost resilience and reduce the risk of major flood damage.

Dargaville residents and visitors are one step closer to easier and safer active transport options after Kaipara District Council’s decision to progress the Kaipara Cycle Network Connections project.

A Notice of Motion put forward by Deputy Mayor Jonathan Larsen to discontinue Kaipara District Council’s climate policy and cancel its emission accounting contract was approved at the September Council meeting.

Upgrading the Taharoa Domain day visitor toilet facilities, improving drainage in Mangawhai Community Park, and completing the award-winning Baylys Beach boardwalk are all on the cards for Kaipara District Council’s (KDC) work programme thanks to a cash injection from the Tourism Infrastructure Fund (TIF).

Sunny weather and an incoming tide provided the perfect backdrop to open the Mangawhai boardwalk to a large gathering last week.

The boardwalk is the second phase of the Mangawhai shared path project, connecting the village to the heads, and making it safer and easier to travel by foot, bike, or scooter along busy Molesworth Drive.

An update from Kaipara District Council and Northland Regional Council.

Progress has been tracking well on the second phase of the Mangawhai shared path, with the boardwalk section now stretching right across the water by the causeway.

Work to improve the resilience of Maungaturoto’s water network is almost complete.  

Kaipara District Council Elected Members have adopted the Annual Plan 2023-2024, with an average rates rise of 4.96 percent (excluding water charges).

Contractors working on the finishing touches for Poutō wharf have had to down tools until conditions are more favourable to complete the remaining piling and wharf head.

Construction of the permanent upgrade for Wood Street will take place next year, after Council has signalled prioritising emergency works over planned projects for the upcoming Annual Plan 2023/2024.

At the April Council meeting Kaipara District Council staff presented the latest financial statements for the draft Annual Plan 2023/2024, alongside a projected rates increase averaging 4.98 percent across the district.

Works to further improve Maungaturoto’s water network kick off next week.

Late last month a warm Kaipara sun shone on a group of farmers and growers keen to hear about a season of growing squash in Maunganui Bluff, north of Dargaville.  

Kaipara District Council is asking the community for feedback on proposed fees and charges for the 2023/2024 year.

Yesterday I was able to witness first hand some of the hard work that has been happening across the district to recover from Cyclone Gabrielle.

Salt services, a professional dive team, spent most of a day early last week pulling an old car wreck out of the water. The car had been submerged some years ago and was resting where work was starting on the wharf head.

Improvements to the Poutō Point carpark area can progress in 2023 thanks to further funding from Kaipara District Council.

The construction of Poutō wharf has really been trucking along recently, with another dozen piles driven in the ground last week.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency is encouraging people in Dargaville to get on their bikes with a Transport Choice programme grant of approximately $8,000,000 to be provided to Kaipara District Council, announced on 4 December 2022.

Sea, sand, and Aotearoa New Zealand’s rarest bird were all on hand for the opening of Kaipara’s newest loos.

If you live in Poutō or have gone for a drive down recently, you will have seen some of the wharf construction taking shape.

New toilets at Alamar Crescent are ready for the public to use in time for Mangawhai’s busy summer season. 

A first-ever Arts, Culture and Heritage Strategy will provide a much-needed boost to the arts sector in Kaipara.

Physical works for Poutō wharf have begun. Earlier in the month, Waikaretu marae led a blessing ahead of construction starting.

Kaipara District Council staff are asking Mangawhai house owners and residents on the wastewater system to flush water through their drains, toilets and showers and prevent gases from backing up into their homes.

The second phase of the Mangawhai shared path cranks up construction next month, and includes a collaboratively designed boardwalk running alongside the causeway.

Kaipara District Council has confirmed sunflowers and squash for the second growing season of the Kaipara Water demonstration sites.

An update on the Kaihu Valley Trail including fencing progress, funding and latest finds along the trail.

A Mangawhai Wastewater Treatment Plant Advisory Group (MAG) is helping to guide a future strategy for the growing town’s wastewater disposal.

The Mangawhai Activity Zone (MAZ) Trust will soon start work on a new Flow Bowl and Street Skateboarding Plaza, following a grant from Kaipara District Council.

Two new community hubs move a step closer with Kaipara District Council opting to apply for the Three Waters Better Off Funding Package, provided by Central Government, to help fund them

A blessing event carried out with Te Uri o Hau iwi representatives earlier this week signalled the completion of the first phase of the Mangawhai shared path works.

Work to construct Poutō wharf is set to begin shortly.

Last week saw the first of the pre-cast concrete slabs for Mangawhai’s new wastewater balance tank carefully craned into place.

If you are passionate about Ruawai and its future, the newly created Ruawai Adaptive Pathways Community Panel is looking for members just like you!

Government sources estimate that between $120 and $185 billion dollars of investment in three waters (drinking water, waste water and storm water) infrastructure will be needed over the next 30 years to improve the quality of our drinking water and wastewater and stormwater management, across New Zealand.

Kaipara District Council Elected Members have unanimously adopted the Annual Plan 2022-2023, with an average general rates rise of 4.86 percent (excluding water charges, and allowing for 1 percent growth).

Kaipara District Council’s operations and maintenance switches over to a new contractor next month.

Pop into Dargaville Museum to see their latest display on the development of the Kaihu Valley Trail.

In the bowels of Kaipara’s wastewater networks, rag monsters and fatbergs are causing havoc and costing ratepayers' money.

Find out about the new wharf at an information drop-in session 3 July 2022. 

With the courtesy crossings for phase one now complete, the Mangawhai shared path team and contractors got the spades and mulch out and ticked off the planting, getting the final shrubs and trees in the ground last week.

The project to install a new toilet at Lincoln Street Reserve is a step closer to completion with the new facilities delivered to site last week.  

Council staff brought the final draft of the Annual Plan to a briefing earlier this month, presenting recent financial statements alongside a rates increase averaging 4.86 percent.

Work to improve the wastewater network in Kaiwaka is scheduled to begin on 23 May 2022. 

A new balance tank for Mangawhai's wastewater treatment plant is one step closer to completion, with the first pre-cast concrete slabs poured for the tank structure.

Kaipara District Council has voted unanimously to adopt a ten year library strategy, paving the way forward for an equitable, modern library service.

Projects to install new toilets in Mangawhai and Maungaturoto reached milestones recently, as the new facilities were delivered to their sites.

Complex problems for councils seldom come as neatly packaged as the “Better Off” funding which is part of the Three Waters Reforms.

Elected Members have unanimously approved paying the forecasted $265,000 project shortfall for Poutō wharf, funded from the district’s financial contributions reserves.

Check out the latest happenings on the Kaihu Valley Trail progress, including the discovery of some railway artefacts.

Works to improve the sewer pipe network in Dargaville is scheduled to begin on 19 April 2022.  

The Environment Court has given the green light to Mangawhai Central’s Private Plan Change 78 (PPC 78) to the Kaipara District Plan.

On Monday 28 March, Mangawhai Community Park’s new toilets were formally opened with a blessing at the Historic Village.

Two new footbridges were opened at a double ribbon-cutting ceremony in the Kaipara township of Kaiwaka on Saturday 26 March.

We are aware some Maungaturoto residents have recently experienced events of low pressure or in some instances disrupted water supply to their properties.

Harvesting is underway across the Kaipara Water demonstration sites. 

Ongoing COVID-19 restrictions and other delays to the programme have inevitably slowed the Poutō wharf project, but the team have made progress and are now working through the tail end of the developed design.

At a recent Council meeting, staff gave an update on Gumdiggers Track and the work happening behind the scenes.

At a recent briefing Council staff presented the preliminary financial statements for the upcoming Annual Plan (2022-2023).

The Waiatua Dam (on Opanake Road) may be the solution to end the Dargaville and Baylys Beach water shortages, according to a preliminary investigation, commissioned by Kaipara District Council. 

Recent Council approval to extend existing waste management contracts ensures service continuity for the district, while staff prepare for the first phase of the overhaul of waste services.

Starting today through to Wednesday 23 February a short section of Molesworth Drive from the ITM down to Nautical Heights will go down to one lane, with flow managed using traffic lights.

Last week saw the installation of a temporary sign marking the Dargaville entrance of the Kaihu Valley Trail.

The council is upgrading wastewater systems and is asking people to flush responsibly.

Growth is the word of the day when it comes to the Kaipara Water demonstration sites. The summer months have seen the former grassed paddocks turn into a jungle of green activity on both sites.

Work is progressing well on the raw watermain renewals in Maungaturoto.

The Council is about to start constructing a balance tank, to increase the capacity of the Mangawhai Community Wastewater Scheme.

Although recent rain has been welcomed by landowners, it is causing headaches for Kaipara District Council’s Raupo stopbank improvement project, in Ruawai.

Representatives of the Pahi community met with Council at the wharf last week to work out where a new toilet block could go.

Construction for the Pahi wharf upgrade ended as it began months ago, with the sky lighting up slowly on the people gathered together. Voices joined in karakia and waiata, led by kaumatua Hone Martin and representatives of Te Uri o Hau swirled around the Kaipara harbour as a dawn blessing was performed to open the wharf’s gangway and pontoon.

With the border opening there will be increased traffic travelling through both of the worksites. Please remind your visitors ahead of their arrival that these are still active work sites in the lead up to the break – give your friends and family a heads up so they can be prepared for possible travel delays and can plan their journeys accordingly.

A new balance tank and inlet works are to be installed at the Mangawhai wastewater treatment plant to expand the existing hydraulic capacity during the peak summer periods.

Visitors to the Kaipara Water demonstration sites will spot the beginnings of green growth starting to peek through the soil.

A tomo (sinkhole) recently appeared on Gordon Street in Dargaville.

Work to install the Kaiwaka footbridges will start in early January and continue for around seven weeks. With it comes some great employment opportunities for local contractors.

The $8.06M Unsealed Roading Network project that began in May last year, has crossed the halfway mark with completion of the first season’s physical pavement and associated works at a cost of $4.3M to end of October.

Extra low tides earlier this month allowed Huband Contractors to work on some of the timber repairs around the lower parts of the tidal stairs.

Construction work for the new Poutō wharf will begin in 2022.

An onsite blessing will be held by Te Roroa on Friday 12 November to mark the start of construction on the $1.8m Waipoua River Road project.

Over the next few months, our team and contractors will replace approximately 3,000m of ageing raw watermain pipes.

As part of our Long Term Plan, we undertook to explore options to expand the capacity of the Mangawhai Wastewater Scheme to accommodate growth in the area and summer peak flows.

There’s been significant progress on the Village intersection improvements recently. Night works have enabled the programme to see only a small delay in spite of the recent Level 4 lockdown and restrictions.

Earlier this month an extreme rain event at Baylys Beach, followed by periods of further wet weather, saw signifcant damage inflicted on the beach access.

The Huband crew have been working at the end of the wharf recently, preparing the connection for the new gangway, and replacing pile caps and stringers.

If you’re connected to Council’s treated water supply system, your most recent water invoice may have shown an increase in the cost for your first cubic meter of water.

Considerations from Kaipara District about the Three Waters Reforms.

It’s ‘steady as she goes’ for Kaipara District Council after Deloitte reported their 2021-2031 Long Term Plan (LTP) provides a ‘reasonable basis for accountability to the community’.

Kaipara District Council has welcomed Philip Jones as the independent chair of their Audit, Risk and Finance Committee.

It’s been a hive of activity down at the Pahi wharf recently. The upgrade has started with local contractors Huband carrying out the carpentry and repair work on the wharf.

Ngā mihi mō au korero whakahoki! 

Thank you for your feedback. We had a fantastic response to our recent survey asking for help to select one of the trial crops for Kaipara Water demo site two. The winner by community vote was kaanga ma.

Work is about to start on two of four new toilet blocks. 

The Council has awarded the contract to design and build the two Kaiwaka footbridges to Bridge It NZ.

A significant change in the programme for the much-needed Village intersection improvements will see the work finished in early December, ahead of schedule.

The United Civil team are starting to work in the road (Stage Two of their work staging plan), focusing on the area at the western entrance to the Moir Street / Insley Street intersection.

Winter weather has slowed the reconstruction work to upgrade our unsealed roads, but no time is being wasted. Teams are clearing vegetation and drains in preparation for when reconstruction work can start again.

Kaipara District Council voted to become a shareholder of Northland Inc. at their meeting on 26 May.

The Kaihu Valley Trail is a 40km walking and biking track being constructed from Dargaville to Donnellys Crossing. It will form part of the Ancient Kauri Trail that extends from Omapere to Maungaturoto and be one of the 23 Great Rides around New Zealand.

A new stormwater network has been installed between 18 – 40 Jervois Street, Dargaville.

Kaipara District Council today endorsed a future-focused Long Term Plan (LTP) which aims to respond to a growing population while caring for the environment and keeping rates increases low. 

A section of Hokianga Road has been a hive of activity recently, with our contractors out busy replacing an ageing stormwater culvert.

Construction work on the Mangawhai Village intersection improvements started this week. 

Nine infrastructure renewal projects are being rolled out across Kaipara District this year. 

Kaipara District Council has developed a new formula for unsealed roads that results in a more durable, and lower maintenance, surface.

Some of the works happening around the District. 

The Council will be consulting on a proposal to secure land for a future new library in Mangawhai as part of their long-term planning. Towards a Better Kaipara, the Council’s Long Term Plan 2021-2031 will determine where the Council focuses over the next 10 years. 

Kaipara District Council is consulting on their proposed plan for the next ten years and Elected Members will be on hand to talk about it and answer questions.

Kaipara District Council will soon be seeking feedback on their proposal to develop a revitalised Dargaville civic precinct as part of their Long Term Plan consultation.

Kaipara District Council has laid out its vision for the next decade of development in its Long Term Plan (LTP) and is asking the community if they agree.

Kaipara has a poor track record for recycling. In summer 2020, a snapshot audit of rubbish bags found 860kgs of 3196kg could have been recycled. That’s 27% of the rubbish we send to landfill.

‘Water’ will be a word to watch in 2021, as far as Kaipara District Council is concerned. To start with,
low river flows mean water restrictions are in place for our largest reticulated town supply to Dargaville
and Baylys Beach.

We will soon be consulting on our Long Term Plan 2021 – 2031, which will guide where we focus over the next ten years. 

See the results from surveys and events we've undertaken recently as part of our Long Term Plan.