Mayor's Message 29 January 2024

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

Kaipara District Council elected members adopted the Long Term Plan 2024 – 2027 consultation document in the council meeting on Wednesday, kickstarting the feedback period opening today.

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

Kaipara District Council is grappling with compounding inflation and recovery costs.

Consultation for Kaipara District Council’s Long Term Plan 2024 – 2027 is scheduled for 4 April – 4 May 2024. In the lead up to the consultation period, Mayor Craig Jepson is encouraging everyone to get involved.

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.

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

The end of the year is certainly a time for reflection, and I have been doing plenty of that as we approach the summer break. It’s been a huge year for the Council and for all of us here in Kaipara District. 

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

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.

It’s been fantastic to have so many locals engaging with Elected Members and Council staff at the recent market events. In the last month we’ve had stands at Mangawhai Tavern Market, Dargaville Community Market, and Maungaturoto Night Market. We also hosted a Dargaville Business Meet and Mingle in partnership with Dargaville Community Development Board.

Over the next two weekends, Kaipara District Council Elected Members and Council staff will be out and about attending markets around the district.

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

This month I have been really enjoying this drier sunnier weather and the promise it’s bringing of a classic Northland summer. You can feel it in the air. Out and about, it’s been a month full of happenings.  

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.

A shortened Long Term Plan with a focus on recovery was approved by Kaipara District Council earlier this week.

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).

I said in my last message that I would be checking my bike and getting ready for the opening of the Mangawhai boardwalk soon. And true to my word, I did! 

An update from Kaipara District Council and Northland Regional Council.

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

Over the next month, Elected Members and Council staff are attending community markets around Kaipara District.

Plenty happening around the Council table. A Notice of Motion raised by Deputy Mayor Larsen to investigate options for a waste to energy plant was supported by Council

A healthy environment, prosperous economy and dependable roading are included in the community outcomes Kaipara District Council has set for the next few years.

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.  

When you see the sun come out and the wind has dropped, it could be difficult to believe what we have experienced in the last few days.

Look after your loo and Kaipara's wastewater network this summer by reminding your household members and visitors what not to flush.

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.

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

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

The first part of a multi-phase project to manage Council’s water and wastewater asset network more efficiently and improve its resilience is complete.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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. 

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.

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.

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.

Findings of the latest LittaTrap audit found an increase of rubbish captured. LittaTraps (a simple, cost-effective net that sits inside a stormwater grate) have been installed around Northland through a multi-agency initiative.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

We are stoked to be part of an excellent collaborative project, trapping and assessing rubbish before it finds its way into our waterways and out to sea.

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

Some of the works happening around the District.