$141k bill for Hauraki council to fix non-compliant plants
Tue, 8th Sep 2026 (Today)
Hauraki's council faces an almost $141,400 bill to sort out problems at three of its water treatment plants, including chemical storage.
The work is a must-do, according to Mayor Toby Adams.
"When you read what's just happened in Wellington, we don't want underinvestment to create a catastrophic event", he said, referring to the capital's Moa Point wastewater plant spewing out billions of litres worth of raw sewage this year.
On the fix-up list for Hauraki are water treatment plants in Kerepehi and Waihī, and the wastewater treatment plant in Waihī.
The council was made aware of the problems after an engineering consultancy firm inspected the sites in June.
Several chemical storage areas were found not fully meeting guidelines, and the chemicals were identified as "high-priority hazardous substance items" in a council report.
Sorting the compliance issues is expected to cost $141,388, and funds are on the agenda for Wednesday's council meeting.
Adams said the potential safety risks meant either council or Waikato Waters, which takes over all district water operations July 1 next year, would do the tune-ups regardless.
"[The cost]'s not our deciding factor whether we do something or not... it's just about doing things when they need to be doing."
"Nobody doesn't want to be able to flush their toilets and nobody doesn't want water coming out of their taps so the more things we can be on top of, the better."
Asked if the cost was what he expected, the mayor said prices of general materials are rising by 40% in some cases, making the task set by Government to match costs with inflation a difficult one.
"We're always doing our best to save money where we can and make sure we're making wise decisions but we want to ensure our needs are met for today and our future needs are met."
"We wish it all went up with inflation and that would be a simple process for us and central government, but to be honest, the things we purchase don't necessarily just go up with inflation, they go up in a massive hike."
The upgrades follow the council's new $40 million wastewater treatment plant opening in Paeroa, making it far and away the district's single biggest investment in its history.
Adams said the district has always aimed to be ahead of the curve when it comes to water investment, adding most sites are "pretty up to scratch".
"We're one of those councils that have spent money on our nice to haves, and our nice to have has been water and wastewater plants. We never apologise for that.
"At the end of the day if we did it it's going to cost the ratepayers or if they [Waikato Waters] do it it's going to cost the same people.
"We just want to make sure we've always got good, resilient water treatment and wastewater treatment plants so the more you can put in there, the less restrictions there are."
If repairs are approved, there is no current set timeline. The council's report says "detailed design, certification confirmation and contractor pricing will be completed before construction proceeds".
