Agenda of Operations Committee - Thursday, 31 March 2022

9 Reports

9.1 Proposed Temporary Road Closures

Decision Required

Report To:	Operations Committee
Meeting Date:	31 March 2022
Report Author:	Megan Bell, Road Safety Co-ordinator
Report Number:	ROC22-03-1

1 Summary

1.1 This report seeks the Council’s approval for temporary road closures for upcoming local events.

1.2 One of the proposed closures is for the Nelson Car Club Sandy Bay Hill Climb on Riwaka-Sandy Bay Road on Sunday 8 May 2022. The others are for the annual ANZAC Day parades throughout the Tasman region on Monday 25 April 2022.

2 Draft Resolution

That the Operations Committee:

1. receives the report Proposed Temporary Road Closures ROC22-03-1; and

2. approves the temporary road closure of Riwaka-Sandy Bay Road from the intersection with the Takaka Hill Highway for approximately 3 kilometres (RP 0.0 - RP 3.0) on Sunday 8 May 2022 from 7.00am to 5.00pm for the Nelson Car Club Sandy Bay Hill Climb; and

3. approves the temporary road closure of of Pah Street, Motueka (from number 45 to number 7 Pah Street) on Monday 25 April 2022 from 6.00am to 7.30am for the Motueka ANZAC Day Parade; and

4. approves the temporary road closure of School Road, Riwaka (from the intersection with State Highway 60 to Riwaka School) on Monday 25 April 2022 from 8.45am to 9.30am for the Riwaka ANZAC Day Parade; and

5. approves the temporary road closure of Queen Street (from Sundial Square to Cambridge Street), Cambridge Street (from Oxford Street to Queen Street) and Oxford Street (from Wensley Road to Gladstone Road (SH6)) on Monday 25 April 2022 from 10.00am to 12.30pm for the Richmond ANZAC Day Parade; and

6. approves the temporary road closure of Aranui Road, Māpua (from Higgs Road to the tennis courts) on Monday 25 April 2022 from 10.00am to 12.30pm for the Māpua ANZAC Day Parade; and

7. approves the temporary road closure of Whitby Way, Wakefield (from Edward Street to Wakefield car park entrance) on Sunday 25 April 2022 from 9.00am to 12.00pm for the Wakefield ANZAC Day Service.

3 Purpose of the Report

3.1 This report seeks the Committee’s approval for temporary road closures for upcoming local events.

4 Background and Discussion

4.1 As specified in the Local Government Act 1974 section 342 and schedule 10, temporary road closures for events can only be approved by the Council or a delegated Committee of the Council.

Nelson Car Club Sandy Bay Hill Climb – Car Rally Event

4.2 The Nelson Car Club has applied to temporarily close Riwaka-Sandy Bay Road - from the intersection with the Takaka Hill Highway for approximately 3 kilometres (RP 0.0 - RP 3.0) on Sunday 8 May 2022 from 7.00am to 5.00pm for the Nelson Car Club Sandy Bay Hill Climb.

4.3 The closure area is shown in Attachment 1.

4.4 This route has been used in previous years.

4.5 The rally will be conducted under the provisions of the MotorSport New Zealand National Sporting Code and its Appendices and Schedules including all event Supplementary Regulations and Safety Plans. MotorSport New Zealand will issue an Event Permit for the event upon application which includes Public Liability Insurance.

4.6 This proposed closure is also in accordance with the Transport (Vehicular Traffic Road Closure) Regulations 1965.

ANZAC Day Parades

4.7 The Council supports the various Returned and Services' Associations (RSAs) in the region by helping to organise the parades and services and also facilitating temporary road closures and temporary traffic management on the day.

4.8 The Golden Bay RSA has also applied to Waka Kotahi to close Commercial Street, Tākaka (from number 19 to number 81 Commercial Street – with an associate detour for traffic along Motupipi Street, Junction Street and Reilly Street) on Monday 25 April 2022 from 8.30am to 10.30am for the Golden Bay ANZAC Day Parade. Staff have provided written support for the closure and the decision to approve the closure will be made by Waka Kotahi.

4.9 These events have been successfully held in previous years.

4.10 A specialist company will be providing temporary traffic management on behalf of the Council as co-organiser at all the proposed ANZAC events.

4.11 Traffic management plans will be approved by the Council’s Road Corridor Manager.

4.12 The ANZAC Day events will be covered under the Council’s public liability insurance.

4.13 These proposed road closures are also in accordance with the Transport (Vehicular Traffic Road Closure) Regulations 1965.

5 Options

5.1 The options are outlined in the following table.

	Option	Advantage	Disadvantage
1.	Approved the proposed temporary road closures described in this report (Recommended)	The ANZAC Day parades and car rally can safely proceed as planned	Some business owners, residents and road users may be temporarily inconvenienced
2.	Approve some of the proposed temporary road closures described in this report	Some of these events can proceed as planned Less effect on road users or residents	Some ANZAC Day events will not be able to proceed as planned; OR The car rally would not be able to proceed
3.	Decline the proposed temporary road closures described in this report	No effects on road users or residents.	ANZAC Day events will not be able to proceed as planned. The car rally would not be able to proceed

5.2 Option one is recommended.

6 Strategy and Risks

Nelson Car Club Sandy Bay Hill Climb

6.1 Some people will be inconvenienced by the temporary road closure of Riwaka-Sandy Bay Road.

6.2 The detour route will be via Kaiteriteri, and residents will be let through the closure area between races. Residents have also been given a phone number to call if they need to exit their property.

6.3 There were some complaints when this event was held three years ago in relation to advance warning signage and difficulty turning around at the closure point at the Riwaka end. This has been addressed by an improved traffic management plan in coordination with Waka Kotahi.

ANZAC Day Parades

6.4 Some people will be inconvenienced by the temporary road closures. However, the closures will be short in duration and are part of a strong New Zealand tradition that is cherished and supported by the local community. Similar road closures have been in place in previous years for the ANZAC Day parades, and improvements made as needed to traffic management plans from previous years.

7 Policy / Legal Requirements / Plan

.7.1 It is a requirement that temporary road closures for certain types of events made under Schedule 10 Clause 11(e) of the Local Government Act 1974 come to the Council (or delegated Committee of Council) for approval. Approval for temporary closures for certain events cannot be delegated to Council staff.

7.2 As per clause 11 of Schedule 10 of the Local Government Act 1974, consultation with the Police and the New Zealand Transport Agency has been undertaken for the proposed temporary road closures.

7.3 As per clause 11(e) of Schedule 10 of the Local Government Act 1974, the road closures will not exceed the aggregate of 31 days for any year.

7.4 As per clause 11A of Schedule 10 of the Local Government Act 1974, and clauses 5 and 6 of the Transport (Vehicular Traffic Road Closure) Regulations 1965, Council staff will advertise the temporary road closures in Newsline and on the Council’s website

8 Consideration of Financial or Budgetary Implications

8.1 The management of temporary road closures is a normal part of the Council’s daily business and there are no financial or budgetary implications. Administrative costs for road closures are covered by the application fees.

9 Significance and Engagement

Nelson Car Club Sandy Bay Hill Climb

9.1 The proposed closure was advertised in Newsline on 4 February 2022.

9.2 One objection was received from a Tasman resident, who is not a resident of Riwaka-Sandy Bay Road but has general concerns about car rally events being supported in principle by Council. This objection can be found in Attachment 2.

9.3 Affected landowners and the Marahau-Sandy Bay Residents Association were sent a letter notifying of the proposed temporary closure, and at the time of writing no objections have been received.

9.4 The New Zealand Police and Waka Kotahi have been advised of this closure and have given feedback that any concerns they have will be remedied through the approval of the traffic management plan for the event. This traffic management plan needs to be approved by both the Council and Waka Kotahi for the event to proceed.

9.5 Nelson Car Club will deliver a letter advising the closure to affected residents at least one week before the car rally event as well as erecting signs at the location advising of the closure details.

ANZAC Day Parades

9.6 The proposed closures were advertised in Newsline on 18 February 2022.

9.7 The New Zealand Police and Waka Kotahi (the New Zealand Transport Agency) have been advised of the proposed closures and have no objections or concerns.

9.8 The closure of Queen Street for the Richmond ANZAC Day Parade will affect the regular bus service that runs along Queen Street. Council staff will work with SBL and the traffic management provider to set up a temporary bus stop on Talbot Street as per previous similar closures and notify the public of this leading up to the events.

9.9 At the time of writing no objections have been received regaqrding any of the proposed closures.

9.10 Emergency services will be advised of the closures a week before the event and provided full access as needed.

9.11 The following table describes the level of significance of the decision. Overall, the significance is considered low as the effects of the closures are temporary in nature, and appropriate engagement has taken place with affected parties.

	Issue	Level of Significance	Explanation of Assessment
1.	Is there a high level of public interest, or is decision likely to be controversial?	Moderate	The ANZAC Day Parades are part of loved national tradition that are well attended and supported by the community. The Nelson Car Club runs a series of annual events and have done so for many years.
2.	Are there impacts on the social, economic, environmental or cultural aspects of well-being of the community in the present or future?	Moderate	As above
3.	Is there a significant impact arising from duration of the effects from the decision?	Low	The ANZAC Day Parades well supported community events that are short in duration and will have no lasting effects on the roading network. The car rally event is for one day only and if there are any effects on the network the Car Club will remedy these.
4.	Does this activity contribute or detract from one of the goals in the Tasman Climate Action Plan 2019?	Low	Car rallies will increase vehicle emissions in that area for the day, but the event is only held annually and short in duration.
5.	Does the decision relate to a strategic asset? (refer Significance and Engagement Policy for list of strategic assets)	Low	The Council’s roading network is considered a strategic asset but this decision only relates to the temporary closures of small sections of the network for short duration.
6.	Does the decision create a substantial change in the level of service provided by Council?	No
7.	Does the proposal, activity or decision substantially affect debt, rates or Council finances in any one year or more of the LTP?	No
8.	Does the decision involve the sale of a substantial proportion or controlling interest in a CCO or CCTO?	No
9.	Does the proposal or decision involve entry into a private sector partnership or contract to carry out the deliver on any Council group of activities?	No
10.	Does the proposal or decision involve Council exiting from or entering into a group of activities?	No
11.	Does the proposal require inclusion of Māori in the decision making process (consistent with s81 of the LGA)?	No

10 Conclusion

10.1 The ANZAC Day Parades are positive and loved community events with good attendance by residents.

10.2 The car rally is part of an annual series and attracts entrants and spectators from all over New Zealand.

10.3 Temporary road closures for these events require the Council’s approval.

10.4 Staff recommend that the Council approve the temporary road closures in accordance with the Local Government Act 1974 section 374 and Schedule 10.

10.5 These proposed road closures are also in accordance with the Transport (Vehicular Traffic Road Closure) Regulations 1965.

11 Next Steps / Timeline

11.1 If the Council approves the temporary road closures:

11.1.1 Staff will advertise the closures in Newsline, Antenno and on the Council’s website and social pages.

11.1.2 Staff will work with SBL to provide an alternative bus route for the day of the Richmond ANZAC Day parade.

11.1.3 The Nelson Car Club will undertake a second letter drop to affected landowners.

11.1.4 The applicants will submit a Traffic Management Plan to the Council’s Road Corridor Manager for approval one month before the event.

11.1.5 Staff will inform emergency services of the road closures details

Attachments

1.⇩	Location Plan - Riwaka-Sandy Bay Road - Nelson Car Club Rally - 8 May 2022	11
2.⇩	Objection - Nelson Car Club Rally - 8 May 2022	12

9.4 Environmental Information

Information Only - No Decision Required

Report To:	Operations Committee
Meeting Date:	31 March 2022
Report Author:	Rob Smith, Environmental Information Manager
Report Number:	ROC22-03-2

1 Summary

1.1 The report covers the period mid-December 2021 to mid-March 2022 covering the general activities of the Environmental Information team and some cross Council teamwork.

2 Draft Resolution

That the Operations Committee:

1. receives the Environmental Information report, ROC22-03-2; and

2. receives the Top of the South Marine Biosecurity Partnership strategic plan; and

3. supports the strategic plan; and

4. receives the submission to the Ministry for the Environment on the proposed changes to the Environmental and Reporting Act, ROC22-03-2

5. supports the staff submission.

3 Purpose of the Report

3.1 This report updates the Operations Committee on the activity areas of the Environmental Information team for the preceding three-month period. The team is involved in State of the Environment monitoring and survey to enable support and advice to the wider Council and to ensure Tasman’s compliance with national reporting requirements. Additionally, the team is involved in operational delivery in land management, biodiversity, biosecurity and the delivery of the Jobs for Nature, Wilding Conifer and Freshwater Improvement Fund stimulus project work.

3.2 The report also seeks support for the staff submission to the Ministry for the Environment (MfE) on the proposal to make changes to the Environmental Reporting Act 2015 (ERA). MfE is seeking feedback on their proposal. We agree that the ERA has made positive changes and believe that it is a valuable tool. We also believe that it can be improved while ensuring that reporting allows a trusted source of information for the public.

4 Commentary

Environmental Reporting Act

4.1 The Ministry for the Environment has proposed changes to the Environmental Reporting Act (ERA). Within the proposal the Ministry aims to:

· make reporting timelier, using a wider variety of formats and data;

· clearly state the reasons why we are reporting under the ERA;

· make reporting more cohesive and robust, using a fuller reporting framework, and produce scenarios showing future trends;

· better reflect Te Tiriti o Waitangi (the Treaty of Waitangi) partnership with Māori and Māori data sovereignty, by stronger inclusion of te ao Māori and mātauranga Māori; and

· help decision-makers identify and implement positive actions for our environment.

4.2 Council staff support the proposal and see that most impact of the changes falls on central government, however we seek consideration of some additional matters. In particular that any decision does not negatively impact on Tasman District (increased cost) and that there is consideration of an improved coordinated approach to monitoring across the wider science sector. This aligns with work being undertaken by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).

4.3 While the proposal seeks input to address 10 specific areas staff have kept their commentary to a higher level in the interests of efficiency.

4.4 The cost benefit analysis provided with the proposal does suggest that there might be some cost that flows onto the Council. Staff do not believe that this will be more than minor (staff time) and will be adequately managed within the existing budget provision. A bigger impact is related to monitoring and costs that will come out of the Natural and Built Environments Act and Freshwater reforms. The increased pressure to improve monitoring to address the freshwater reforms, will be addressed via next financial year’s Long Term Plan process.

4.5 Staff do not see any risk with the views expressed in the submission and believe that it is important to seek to support improvement where we can. The ERA does provide reporting which assists with telling the ‘story’ of the state of our wider environment, how it is expected to change, and what the Government Ministries plan to do about that situation.

General Activities of the Environmental Information Section

4.6 To cover the range of activities of the section the commentary below is split out as a range of activity areas with commentary against each, not all areas of work are covered each quarter.

BioStrategy

4.7 The Tasman BioStrategy is now in a suitable form to present to iwi, landowners and Councillors for their response before placing a complete document before the Council for its consideration. A Council workshop will be held on 5 April 2022 and the BioStrategy Governance Group will then meet in mid-April to approve the document to go to iwi and landowners. That engagement will occur in the second half of April. Final amendments will occur during the May-June period with the BioStrategy being recommended to the Council July-August.

Biosecurity

4.8 Gorse and broom exclusion area: As a result of several severe rainfall events where Harley stream has burst its banks, we have seen a rapid spread of broom on the gorse and broom exclusion area boundary. Broom seed in the sediments washed into the stream from upper terraces has resulted in the spread of new broom growth, in an area where we have only seen random, individual juvenile bushes. We normally hand-pull or cut and paste bushes found in this area. A considerable effort has been required this year to spray this incursion and is a good example of how the nature of our work is changing due to climate variability and flood events.

Rampant new growth of Broom following freshly deposited sediment in the Gorse and Broom exclusion area

4.9 Backyard trapping subsidised traps: Before Christmas we began a trial of providing subsidised traps to Tasman residents. Traps are built by the Menzshed in Richmond and handed out by the Department of Conservation (Doc) at the Nelson iSite. Rat and stoat traps can be purchased for half price and are currently limited to one of each trap type per household. We have started with a $10,000 allocation and have seen nearly all traps sold. We will look into spreading this programme into Golden Bay and Motueka with the next run of traps. This programme offers a great chance to educate residents at the same time, with each person signing up to a newsletter when they purchase a trap.

4.10 Spartina: The annual search for spartina in the Waimea inlet was completed with only one plant found. This work is led by DoC under the Tasman Nelson Regional Pest Management Plan and is supported annually by Tasman District Council biosecurity staff. Spartina is an eradication species so the results are good news for this programme. As spartina can be challenging to find in the estuary, follow up surveys will be needed to ensure nothing has been missed.

4.11 Marine Biosecurity: The annual summer survey of boats in the Abel Tasman was completed in February 2022, with only one boat found with Sabella (Mediterranean fanworm). This boat was based in Auckland but had been cleaned and inspected in Opua before sailing to Tasman. Divers found small sabella on the keel, a common location to be missed while cleaning. The boat was directed to Nelson marina to be lifted and checked again.

4.12 The Top of the South Marine Biosecurity Partnership has teamed up with the Top of the North to deliver a marine biosecurity seminar series. All are held on Zoom and are free for anyone to attend by registering at: www.marinepests.nz. Many of our local experts will be involved in this series, and it is an excellent chance for our area to share our knowledge and learnings from this successful partnership.

4.13 Top of the South Marine Biosecurity Strategic Plan 2021-2030; The Top of the South Marine Biosecurity Partnership has undergone a strategy review after its first 10 years. The Partnership funders consists of the Ministry of Primary Industries and the three top of the south councils, and is also supported by representatives of iwi, marine biosecurity scientists, aquaculture, marina managers and DoC. The chair is shared between the three councils and is currently held by Tasman, with Guinny Coleman as the current chair.

4.14 The review reflects a continued commitment of all parties to work together to prevent incursions of marine pests, and to respond quickly and efficiently when pests are discovered. The strategy reflects a shift in focus beyond our own region to pathway management and intelligence gathering, as well as changing behaviours of boat owners to be ahead of any potential threat to the top of the south. Work on surveys of the region to detect incursions will continue with inspections of fixed structures and boats throughout the year.

Jobs for Nature

Update on the Freshwater Improvement Fund – Fish Passage Project

4.15 Achieved to date: 485 in-stream structure assessments (Year 1 target of 400 exceeded), 75 remediations (Year1 target is 144) – mostly in 88 Valley, Sherry River and Aorere Valley. The supplier is halfway through contractor hours funded for year one which aligns with how remediations are tracking so this target is expected to be met by year one close (30 June).

4.16 A short Jobs for Nature film is being produced about this project for MfE involving the contractors in action and local iwi on 24 March 2022. The release date for this is expected in May.

4.17 A communication push in February 2022 concentrated on pushing out project information to groups with strong connections to landowners in areas where immediate assessment/remediation work was planned. Public facing information has been posted and will be maintained here: Fish Passage project updates | Tasman District Council. Additional work to ensure project awareness prior to supplier contact continues. We also continue to ask for feedback from reference groups as well as landowners who have experienced the work to date. Project information has also been shared internally.

4.18 An experiment and fish survey were conducted on twin culverts on a small creek near Williams Road/Āporo Road intersection (upstream of Tasman township) to assess the effectiveness of standard fish passage remediation solutions. Both culverts were undercut and overhanging in a similar arrangement, but one culvert was treated with a rubber apron, spat ropes and baffles, and the other was left as is. Two sealed traps were placed at the inlet of each culvert to catch all the fish and were emptied daily for 23 days. The result was clear that the treated culvert was the only one to provide fish passage for īnanga (five inanga, 92 banded kōkopu, and six eel) and relatively few fish (23 banded kōkopu and three eel) made it up the untreated culvert (it was surprising that any fish did). The eDNA (environmental DNA) found only eels and a few banded kōkopu upstream of the traps before treatment.

Update on the Freshwater Improvement Fund - Wetland Project

4.19 A wetland and fish passage wānanga (training workshop) was held at Lake Rotoroa with Ngāti Apa in January. Rangatahi and Council staff were educated in kaitiakitanga and mātauranga māori by local māori experts and Council staff and DoC personnel provided information about their scientific knowledge. This learning was also reinforced with the use of games. A video of this workshop is being edited and should be available for review shortly.

4.20 Site specific management plans have been developed and approved by our compliance staff for Reilly 1b (in the Motupipi catchment) and Eves Valley constructed wetlands. Iwi approval has been received for Eves Valley and is pending for Reilly 1b.

4.21 Natural wetlands assessed at Roundell Creek (near Tophouse), St Arnaud, Pūponga and Wharariki with drone imagery taken. This information is use in the assessment and management of invasive weed species into the wetlands. A contractor has been approved for Mataahua (Nile Road) wetland and a contractor has been identified for Roundell Creek sites.

4.22 Unfortunately, a landowner at the Waiwhero Road site has changed their mind and no longer wish to be part of the wetland project. This is a real shame as the few willows that currently occupy that wetland are very likely to ‘explode’ and transform the natural rushland-reedland wetland into a willow-swamp with very little biodiversity. We will revisit this in 12 months’ time in the hope that we can find a way forward. While the door is open to reengage, the longer it is left before weed species are managed the more expensive to restore it becomes.

4.23 Use of drone imagery is proving useful in communicating projects to iwi and we anticipate utilising this methodology for most sites going forward.

4.24 Pest tree felling was completed by the Solid Waste team at Waiwhero Road, controlling Tasmanian Blackwoods that were an incursion source for the Waiwhero Wetland. Their assistance in this is greatly appreciated. It is great to have projects working across the Council to save both money and effort.

4.25 The Iwi Steering Group is gaining momentum with greater input from iwi forthcoming in the last hui. Staff and iwi are working on a Memorandum of Understanding so that we can continue to make solid progress in this space while we can with the central government money we have available.

Pūponga Wetland with willow incursion on right

Pūponga Wetland with possible willow incursion visible centre

Eves Valley showing position and approximate extent of constructed wetland (view looking up-valley)

Roundell Creek Upper Wetland looking East

Waimea Inlet Enhancement Project

4.26 Waimea Delta wetland restoration: The first stage of a wetland creation project designed to enhance the ecological value of Waimea Delta has been undertaken. The multi-stage project will encompass the creation of freshwater wetland areas in a low-lying arm of the Waimea River, just east of Pearl Creek. The site is adjacent to salt marsh and downstream from the cycle bridge along Tasman’s Great Taste Trail.

4.27 Over the last three weeks, work has focused on creating small ponds alongside the existing channel to increase the area of open water. The work has been undertaken by experienced operators from both Downer and the Council. The Delta project is part of the Waimea Inlet Enhancement Project, funded by the Ministry for the Environment and Tasman District Council. Rather than rate money, gravel royalties from the Challies Island wetland development are being used for the development as they were for the land purchase, as this area forms part of the larger Waimea River Park.

4.28 The site has been selected as having huge potential for restoring habitat for marsh birds such as Matuku (Australasian Bittern). It will also provide a beneficial habitat for other species, including īnanga, kōkopu, eels and everything that feeds on them.

4.29 There are limited freshwater wetland sites left that are adjacent to salt marsh, particularly in Tasman Bay. This makes this site an important opportunity for building ecological linkages. River delta systems are known worldwide to have some of the richest biodiversity.

4.30 Terrestrial planting around the area is planned over winter, followed by further wetland planting in spring. Phase two will take place in early 2023.

4.31 The work is forecast to come under budget and ahead of schedule. By the time the Council receives this report the areas disturbed by machinery will have been stabilised and reseeded to reduce erosion.

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These two ponds were created in the first week of the project

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Work in progress at the Waimea Delta. Before works commenced tall fescue dominated most of the area

Mt Richmond Forest Park Wilding Conifer Management Unit

4.32 Mt Richmond – Over 150 hectares of boom spraying has been undertaken in the months of February and March. This was primarily at Beeby’s knob and Gordons management areas. This included treatment of troublesome species such as pinus contorta and Douglas fir to reduce the seed spread into the red hills. Ground control work has been continuing in the Gordons management unit and around Mount Starveall. A team spent a full week in the bush undertaking control work with a base at Starveall Hut achieving great results and enjoying some fantastic weather. This included a helicopter ferry of staff and supplies.

Teapot Valley Fire Restoration Project

4.33 The contract with Kaitiaki O Ngahere for revegetation and weed control was signed at the start of the year it is worth $548,600 over three and a quarter-years and includes planting of 33,000 plants. Works are underway with an initial planning meeting held with Kaitiaki staff to discuss project plans and logistics. It is fair to say that the Kaitiaki team are excited about the project and very keen to work in partnership with us on the restoration of Teapot Valley.

Natural Hazards

4.34 Over the past few months Bryan Scoles has been collating the historic coastal shoreline data and using our LiDAR data, to add additional information to this data set. In the early 1990s and early 2000’s the Council surveyed coastal cross sections in 55 locations in Tasman Bay and 36 locations in Golden Bay. This was to monitor shoreline change. Due to workload and cost this series was stopped as we anticipated new technology would be able to revolutionise the process. LiDAR capture was started in the 2000s and has increased coverage each year since. In coastal and large rivers, we now have multiple years-worth of LiDAR coverage. Staff can extract the data to create further cross sections or create entire layers. An example of the early cross section information and later LiDAR data extracted for the same location is shown in the plot below showing a cross section of Motueka Spit. In this location the Spit has moved almost 500m closer to Motueka Quay since 1992.

Coastal Cross Section of Motueka Spit.
The left-hand side is the coast with the spit shown as the series of humps to the right.

4.35 As an example of the value of LiDAR for this work, to survey the Tasman Bay profiles in 1992 it took 600 hours and over 38 days, and this work can now be done using Lidar at a desk in just a few days at most.

4.36 Furthermore, the Council now has a process and the technology to capture up to date information on what is occurring right now by using drones combined with survey equipment. Below is a picture from a recent drone flight to monitor what is occurring at Pakawau.

Pakawau Beach 10 March 2022

4.37 Using an Envirolink grant, staff engaged Auckland University staff to undertake work to digitise the District's historic coastline by mapping the shoreline from orthophotos and satellite imagery captured over the last 80 years. You’ll notice in the photo below that the earliest shoreline captured was from 1938. In some locations such as at Rangihaeata below, it shows there has been significant change. This work is still in draft and when we have the finished report, we will be able to state what the erosion or accretion rates have been in specific parts of our coast. Staff will report back to the Committee on this work once it is complete.

Changes to the Rangihaieta coastline since 1938

Catchment programme

4.38 Emma Woods started in the new position ‘Catchment Enhancement Officer’ in November following Craig Allen’s departure.

4.39 A cross Council water quality investigation is underway in the Reservoir Creek, Jimmy Lee Creek and Borck Creek catchments, in collaboration with members of the Services and Strategy, Environmental Assurance and Community Infrastructure teams, to address the high E. coli levels measured since 2016. Traditionally ducks and dogs are blamed for poor urban water quality but in this case, they may not be the only culprits.

4.40 Refurbishment of the inanga spawning area of Reservoir Creek (between Whakatū Drive and Champion Road) will begin in late March. This involves the lowering of the grassy flood plain bench which has been accumulating fine sediment and now is on average 500-600mm higher than spring and neap tide levels which is the level where inanga typically spawn.

4.41 A water quality investigation is underway in the Burton Ale Catchment of the Aorere Valley, Tākaka in collaboration with Mirka Langford. This investigation aims to work with the farming community to address the high Phosphorous and E. coli results recorded upstream of the Collingwood Wastewater Treatment Plant. Monitoring began in this area in 2004 with past attempts to manage the issue being only partially successful.

4.42 Construction of a third constructed wetland in the Motupipi catchment is due to begin late March at the Reilly 1b site under the FIF programme. The first two wetlands in the Motupipi catchment were funded via the catchment programme and were valuable input into the present FIF wetland programme. The first year of planting maintenance at Reilly 1a, Berkett’s Creek and Motupipi river works at Factory Farm Bridge are now complete. Staff note that within a year of the Motupipi River sediment project starting there are already cobbles visible on the stream bed one year on from in-stream rehabilitation works.

4.43 The Bosselman’s Creek ecologically-friendly bank stabilisation project has been completed in the Moutere catchment with Giles Griffith (formerly in Community Infrastructure).
A bench was incorporated in the bank on the outside of the bends, to improve the success of plantings and to better achieve shading of the stream (stream water temperatures are a major problem in the Moutere). Large woody debris was incorporated into groynes in the bank protection design, to improve in-stream habitat diversity and improve environmental outcomes.

Left: One of two stretches of bank stabilised on Bosselman’s Creek.

Right: The large woody debris and rock incorporated into the bank protection design.

4.44 The finishing work to better align the structure and function of the Page Constructed Wetland in the Fish Creek catchment (upstream of Te Waikoropupu Springs) to the NIWA design objectives has been completed. Works included the construction of a new sedimentation pond at the inlet to the upper pond and permanent siphons between ponds to improve water depths, to improve wetland plant growth and nitrate attenuation through the system. NIWA will hand over the monitoring to the environmental monitoring team in July 2022.

Left: The new sedimentation pond at Page Wetland, awaiting the in-fill planting of wetland vegetation.

Right: Successful wetland vegetation growth in Pond D (2nd from top), one-year post planting.

4.45 This wetland is part of a network of wetlands being monitored throughout the country (see map below). It is of value to have local examples within the region contributing to a research programme like this. Possibly the last notable project like this that staff were engaged with was the work monitoring stock-crossings, which led to many new stock bridges being installed as an outcome. Significantly, the wetland will contribute to improved water quality of the waterway draining the dairy catchment before entering Fish Creek. We have been fortunate to have a willing landowner and funding from DairyNZ to work with the Council and NIWA to achieve this project.

Land

4.46 As a follow up to the rural support meetings we had in the spring, a wall calendar is going out to all rural households. The banner in the calendar looks like this:

4.47 Staff would like rural landowners to start a dialogue with us if they are uncertain about anything and we would like them to feel comfortable getting in touch with us. Short of having catchment coordinators or landowner liaison officers, we have set up a new email address: ruralinfo@tasman.govt.nz. This email address will be triaged by Jane Stuart (Senior Compliance Freshwater) with support from Mirka Langford.

Forestry Management

4.48 As a reminder, this role is fully funded by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) under MPI’s Hill Country Erosion Programme (HCEP) to work for all three councils across Te Tau Ihu (Marlborough, Nelson, and Tasman). The focus is improving sedimentation and erosion management on erosion prone forestry hill country.

4.49 Kaiteriteri Iwi Forestry Project – Work is underway to develop a management plan for the Kaiteriteri Forest on land owned by Ngāti Tama and Ngāti Rarua. The first part, conducting a Situation Analysis: Values, Risks, and Options assessment is nearing completion before part two; a fit for purpose harvest plan can be completed. This work is also funded by the HCEP.

4.50 Marahau Manuka Planting Project – This is progressing well, albeit slower than the original agreement, due to harvesting volumes and rates taking longer than estimated. However, the 114ha is still scheduled to be planted, with the following updated plan agreed on; 8ha in 2022, 6ha in 2023 and the final 14ha in 2024. New agreements with MPI are just about finalised to ensure all the MPI funding is secured for this project before the formal funding programme closes off.

4.51 Reversion Back To Nature Project – Guidelines on how to revert land back to native forest after harvesting have been produced specifically for the Te Tau Ihu, a report produced by Dr Adam Forbes (consultant) and Brad Chandler (staff) via an Envirolink fund grant. The full guidelines can be found here - 2142-NLCC118-Restoring-Exotic-Plantation-Clear-Fells-Guidance-for-Northern-South-Island-Districts.pdf (envirolink.govt.nz)

4.52 Forestry Environmental Plans for Landowners – Requests from individual landowners from all over the district have been increasing for advice on how to revert hill country land back to native or into exotic forestry (or a mix of both). Staff have been getting out on site to discuss options which then allows the production of a Forestry Environmental Plan for them, dividing the property up into manageable prioritised zones.

Forestry Environmental Plan, the property partitioned into manageable prioritised zones

Coastal & Estuarine

4.53 Technical reports are soon to be available on Fine-scale Estuarine Health Assessments of the Waimea and Motupipi Estuaries. These will be added to the website as they become available, and we will advertise their availability via Newsline.

4.54 We are still waiting on two finalised reports for: coastal breeding bird survey and the assessment of threats to coastal birds, management options and opportunities for enhancement. We are in the process of commenting on the drafts at present and expect final reports by the end of June.

Soils

4.55 Information related to our soils work programme is being reported to this Committee today by Anne Wecking.

4.56 Outreach work: The soil space has been busy in supporting different outreach activities.

4.57 The soil information on the Council’s website have been re-consolidated and updated. Legacy soil data were made available to the public as well as the soil health monitoring reports from previous years. An important new feature is that the site helps explain how the public can access Smap information online.

4.58 A soil interest group has formed within the Council across departments. The group’s aim is not only to set an example for cross-team collaboration but to promote soil awareness within the Council. The group is currently working on a community outreach project and ultimately aims to verbalise a soil and land strategy for the Council to consider.

4.59 Anne Wecking is part of the organising committee for the national New Zealand Soil Science conference taking place in Blenheim at the end of November 2022. The conference is a great chance to promote the value of soil in the top of the South Island. The conference theme is Soil – Aotearoa’s most precious natural resource: past, present, future.

4.60 An article has been written for the Rural News to promote the Council’s current soil mapping (Smap) campaign. This is a cooperation between Tim O’Connell (comms) and Anne Wecking (soils). Both were working together also to create a drone video.

Using a drone to create aerial footage for the soil outreach work.

Productive Land Classification (PLC)

4.61 The Council’s 1994 PLC underwent review in 2021. The work was conducted by Dr Reece Hill from the Landvision consultancy in Hamilton. The Council was provided with a final version of the report in September 2021. The report outputs were based on a desktop study in which a geographical information system (GIS) was used to predict areas of productive land in the Tasman District.

4.62 To validate the report findings in a field-based study a ground-truthing campaign was conducted in November and December 2021. The campaign comprised 103 locations across the district that were assessed on the following criteria: land use, soil type, soil texture, soil water table, redox features, drainage class, soil depth and slope class. The collected data are now anticipated to be fed back into the GIS model to validate model assumptions (work yet to be executed by Landsystems).

4.63 Preliminary findings of the ground-truthing were, in brief:

4.63.1 That the 2021 PLC is likely to underestimate the area of productive land in some cases. The underestimation is caused by some land qualities (e.g., soil drainage) being overestimated in the PLC model whereas they can be (and often are) practically remediated in the fields.

4.63.2 It is highly recommended to make the PLC 2021 GIS model available to staff in-house instead of having it outsourced to a consultancy. Access to the model would allow for a more thorough scientific assessment as well as feeding in crucial modifications to input data (such as new Soil Smap data anticipated for 2022-2024). Note: any model is just as good as its input data are.

4.63.3 The report also includes a comparison of how the area of productive land in the 2021 PLC compares to its 1994 predecessor and the framework (land use capability classes, LUC) used in the National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land coming into effect this year. A quantification from page 17 of the ground-truthing report (draft stage) is provided in the below table:

4.64 Referring to the information depicted in the table, it becomes obvious that the area of productive land available in the Tasman District is small and does not comprise more than 14.6% in the 1994 PLC, 5% in the 2021 PLC Option 2 and 5.9% in the LUC framework. To note is that the percentage for the 1994 PLC relates to a different selection of land area than described in the two latter frameworks. To increase comparability, the three frameworks were compared based on only considering land under human and agricultural use (i.e., which basically is the flat land available in the Tasman District equal to not more than 140,000 ha out of the total land area of 962,479 ha), excluding other areas. In this case, the 1994 PLC quantified 34.3% to be of productive classes A to C, the 2021 PLC quantified 30.8% (A-C) and the LUC 35.6% (1-3). As previously mentioned, the 2021 PLC is still under review and is likely to currently underestimate the area of productive land slightly. The full report will be made available as soon as it has passed through review.

4.65 Final note: During the ground-truthing work it was found that the state of soil under intensive agricultural use was not ideal. This observation is based on visual impressions, not on lab results. For example, it was found that in some places, orchard trees were grown on raw subsoil with the topsoil completely missing. Other places lacked proper topsoil management, with the topsoil kept unvegetated or poorly managed showing a poor soil structure, compaction, and surface sealing. Staff note that simply keeping land in production does not guarantee maintaining good soil health or preventing soil from further degradation. Two examples:

Left: As picturesque as the Aorere valley might be, cultivation here has led to severe degradation of the topsoil (dark) with the subsoil (white-grey colour) now apparent on the surface.

Right: West Waimea, pugging and soil compaction created surface sealing which prevents the soil from ‘breathing’ and exchanging gases and water with its surrounding. The sealed surface will stop water from properly infiltrating during the next rain event.

Air Quality

4.66 Information related to our air quality work is being reported to this meeting as a separate report.

Flood Warning

4.67 Equipment for Upper Motueka flood warning sites has been trialed in the office and is waiting to be deployed. Non-essential field work is being delayed at present due to vacancies, staff illness and needing to operate under the traffic light system.

4.68 Consideration is presently being given to the Waimea Community Dam and the monitoring needed to provide flood warning capability once the box culvert under the dam is sealed off.

Environmental Data

4.69 Staff have confirmed survey readings obtained recently for Little Kaiteriteri and are presently correcting data to new datums. Data will be displayed in Chart Datum, the same levels as used on Marine Charts. A new recorder was installed at this location in 2019. An interesting side story to the install involved the need to have anti corrosive metal to form a pipe where gas is bubbled out into the water (to enable sea level to be measured). The ideal metal is cupronickel, and it turns out the old New Zealand 10cent coins were made of this metal. Bob McPherson, a former Council staffmember had a large bag of these in his desk. These were clamped together and drilled to form the tube we needed. A nice bit of ingenuity from staff.

Hydrology

4.70 Work will commence shortly on the hydrological analyses to ensure data is available to allow the new consents on the Waimea Plains can be monitored as per conditions. In particular, one condition refers to the ‘natural flow’ of the river, which will require back calculation of inflows and outflows to the dam, combined with flows from other Waimea tributaries.

4.71 Tapawera has a new rainfall site, installed by the Environmental Monitoring team in December within the Council’s Tapawera Wastewater Treatment Plant site. This site will provide information on the variability of rainfall down the Upper Motueka River supporting water resource management and provide rainfall data for the Tapawera township for infrastructure and flood management. Data collection started prior to summer and can be viewed on the Council’s website.

Tapawera at Wastewater Treatment Plant rainfall site

4.72 A monitoring programme in the upper Motueka River was carried out over summer as part of a five-year study in the upper Motueka River and Motupiko River catchments (see map below). This data will support a review of the rationing and guidelines in the Motueka Water Plan. The programme is guided by a review carried out by Cawthron. It will also support the implementation of the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management and the Tasman Environment Plan development.

Summer Upper Motueka River Monitoring Sites, incl. 15 flow sites, 5 temperature sites, 2 Dissolved Oxygen sites, 2 Macro Invertebrate sites, the new Tapawera rain gauge and continuous flow/rainfall sites.

4.73 Summer Students again provided a notable resource to the summer monitoring programme, including the above Motueka River monitoring. They gain work and industry experience, and we gain a ready source of additional assistance. Summer Student Holly Roundhill from Nelson has since fast- tracked application of this in joining the Council as a permanent Environmental Monitoring Officer (Trainee) in mid-February, following a recent resignation. Holly completed a Bachelor of Science (Oceanography & Ecology major) at Otago University and will study toward the NZ Diploma in Field Hydrology while on-the-job. Experienced technical staff are in very short supply and high demand nationally and recruiting senior staff has been very difficult. We are very pleased to have Holly in the team.

Holly Roundhill new Environmental Monitoring Officer assisting with low flow monitoring,
measuring 3436l/s in Waimea River at Tasman District Council Nursery opposite the gravel works on 17 March 2022.

4.74 Low flows also enabled repair work to get underway at several sites that were damaged during July 2021 floods. Tadmor at Mudstone weir was repaired with the assistance of Community Infrastructure River Engineers in late January. Work to remove and replace the damaged weir plate at Wai-iti at Belgrove is underway. The weirs are to manage the mobile nature of the cobble bed material.

Wai-iti at Belgrove weir v-notch dammed whilst repairs are carried out

4.75 Two yearly River Safety training was completed by Environmental Monitoring and Data staff in December in moderate flows of the Motueka River. The training was delivered by Adventure Skills Limited and a further 20 staff from Nelson City Council, DoC, Ngati Koata, NIWA and Envirolink Ltd also took the opportunity to complete the training.

File photo – March 2016 River Safety training on Buller River

Groundwater/Water Resources

4.76 The March round of the three-monthly State of the Environment groundwater quality sampling is currently underway. Sixteen sites (Waimea, Motueka, Moutere, Murchison, Tapawera and Collingwood catchments) were sampled in early March with assistance from the Environmental monitoring team. The five sites in the Tākaka catchment are to be collected later in the month. This is the first time that microbiological samples (total coliforms and Escherichia coli (E.coli)) will be taken at all 22 of our State of the Environment groundwater sites alongside the standard chemical cation and anion suite. Additional water samples were taken from eight of the Tasman Bay sites on behalf of GNS Science to assist in their investigation on ecosystem monitoring of microbes in various groundwater aquifer environments.

4.77 Sampling of the Waimea catchment groundwater quality survey was completed in mid-December 2021. Laboratory results from this sampling investigation were received in early January 2022, with water quality analysis currently underway. A summary report detailing the findings of the water quality results will be produced in the next few months. Letters were sent on 14 January 2022 to all participating property owners with a copy of their bore/well laboratory result. For more information about the Waimea catchment groundwater quality project, please refer to the link: Waimea Groundwater Quality Survey | Tasman District Council 

4.78 Preliminary mapping of the nitrate results from the 2021 Waimea catchment groundwater quality survey confirmed that elevated nitrates continue to exist in parts of the Waimea Plains. To keep residents informed on groundwater nitrates in the Waimea Plains, a letter was sent in January to property owners in the targeted area reminding them that elevated nitrate concentrations are still present. An article was also released in Newsline at the same time as the letters were sent, detailing the groundwater nitrate concentrations. For more information about nitrates in the Waimea Plains, please refer to the link: Waimea Catchments nitrate overview  | Tasman District Council 

4.79 Two of our Council environmental bores were airlifted in early March: GW 1129 - Fergusons (groundwater level telemetered bore) and GW 1392 - Spring Grove (State of the Environment groundwater quality monitoring bore). The purpose of airlifting these bores was to clear the fine-grained sediment and iron/manganese bacteria from the bore. In particular, GW 1392 - Spring Grove is prone to having iron bacteria growing on the bore casing which makes it difficult for the bore to be pumped due to clogging. Air lifting dislodges the iron bacteria growths and makes it easier for the bore to be pumped to get the three-monthly State of the Environment groundwater quality sample. 

GW 1392 - Spring Grove undergoing air lifting. Upper photo is at the beginning of the air lift.
Lower photo is after 20 minutes of air lifting.

Bathing water

4.80 Bathing water quality sampling for the season wrapped up in February 2022. This season has had a lot more exceedances of the relevant standards and guidelines than average, in part due to the timing of wet weather. Sites that are least swimmable include Collingwood boat ramp, Rototai near Motupipi estuary and Port Riuwaka. Reporting on the results will begin in May and we hope to present this to the June Operations Committee meeting.

Fish Survey

4.81 Freshwater fish surveys were conducted in Tukurua Stream in February and will also be conducted in the Kaituna River (Aorere Valley) in March 2022. The objective of both these surveys was to determine if there are any ecological effects of water takes on the waterway, as well as their associated in-stream structures on fish passage. Both surveys are cooperative exercises with the consent holders and the Council contributing to the cost of the surveys for mutual benefit.

4.82 Dwarf galaxias have been found in the Wai-iti catchment for the first time as part of a fish passage assessment carried out for Tasman Pine Forests Ltd. This non-migratory species related to whitebait is typically found in inland waterways such as upper Buller, upper Motupiko River, as well as Abel Tasman. None have been found in Mōhua/Golden Bay

Water metering

4.83 Over 90% of the telemetered water meters have had their data processed to the National Environmental Standard up until the start of the current irrigation season. The quality of data is pleasing, as there has been an increase in ‘good’ data, with less missing or erroneous data than previous years. The Compliance summer student has done a fantastic job of auditing the meters during this irrigation season, which has identified a few faults that have developed after the previous season, i.e., broken wires, prompting fast repair.

4.84 Verification of the water meters to check that they are accurate to within +/-5% is ongoing. Many are due for their second verification, as most meters are on a five-yearly cycle. With a push last year from Compliance staff, there are now less than 10% of meters non-compliant.

4.85 We follow Irrigation New Zealand’s (INZ) ‘The New Zealand Water Measurement Code of Practice’, which require our service providers to obtain the correct qualifications and be accredited with INZ to perform verifications. We have just had a service provider suspend from the programme, due to losing qualified staff. This will put pressure on our other service providers. We will work with the service provider to get them accredited again.

4.86 Some recently new or varied consent conditions have provided a challenge to monitor. The in-house water meter database WCM, can only calculate compliance in relation to volume of water taken at a constant set level. Some new conditions require the maximum take allowed, to be calculated based on changing river flows, combined with comparing with another take. A solution to this is being worked on.

Attachments

1.⇩

TOS Marine Biosecurity Strategic Plan 2021-2030

9.3 Government's Three Waters Reform Proposal - Update on Progress

Decision Required

Report To:	Operations Committee
Meeting Date:	31 March 2022
Report Author:	Richard Kirby, Group Manager - Community Infrastructure
Report Number:	ROC22-03-3

1 Summary

1.1 The Government’s three waters reform proposal has progressed since the Council deliberations and decision at its meeting on 29 September 2021.

1.2 This report gives context and background to the three waters reform and contains detail on progress with the reform proposals.

1.3 The Government has not changed its proposal to create four Water Service Entities across the country with the Tasman District Council being included in Entity C. It initially gave councils the option of opting in or opting out of the reforms. In September 2021, the Minister of Local Government confirmed that participation in the reforms would be mandatory and legislation in the form of a Water Services Entities Bill would be introduced to the House accordingly.

1.4 As a result of the feedback from councils, the Government did make some minor changes to the reform proposals. These changes were minor compared to the impact of the whole reform programme.

1.5 The Government noted the adverse feedback from local government regarding the governance, representation and accountability aspects of its proposal. Consequently, it established an independent working group comprising representatives from local government and iwi/Māori to consider how governance, representation, and accountability arrangements for Water Services Entities (WSEs) could be strengthened.

1.6 The working group met several times from December 2021 through to March 2022 and presented its final report to the Minister in early March 2022. The report was released on
8 March 2022. The Minister has indicated that the Working Group’s report, which contains 47 recommendations, would be considered, and incorporated as appropriate into the Water Services Entities Bill.

1.7 The Working Group’s report recommends strengthening two of the Water Services Entities Bill’s provisions against the privatisation of water services. It also proposes a significant change to the ownership model comprising a relatively simple form of shareholding. Each owner would receive one share per 50,000 population (rounded up, so a local authority with a population of less than 50,000 would receive one share).

1.8 The report also recommends further protection against the loss of local voice. The Working Group proposes that Regional Representation Group (RRG) decision-making be done on a consensus basis, with 75 per cent majorities required if a decision cannot be reached within a set time.

1.9 The Working Group also recommends some clarification around membership of RRG. The RRG would consist of a minimum of 12 and a maximum of 14 members, with selection of local authority and iwi representatives in the entity constitutions. Each RRG would be co-chaired by a local authority representative and an iwi representative.

1.10 In addition to the changes indicated above, the Working Group recommends that the RRG also be given two further levers to influence Water Service Entity direction. These are the power of approval over entity statements of intent and the power to comment on the Water Services Entities' operational direction in the Asset Management Plan and other key documents.

1.11 The Working Group report also makes eight further recommendations that go to the Treaty relationship or would better infuse Te Mana o Te Wai into the proposed Water Services Entities Bill.

1.12 Following the Government decisions on mandating the three water reforms, the Government established a National Transition Unit (NTU) to oversee the implementation of the reforms.

1.13 The NTU is a new, dedicated business unit located within Te Tari Taiwhenua Department of Internal Affairs (DIA). It is separate from, but works closely with, the team responsible for leading the three waters reform programme and legislation.

1.14 The National Transition Board comprises members with expertise relevant for governing a highly complex and challenging transition process will also be appointed to support the transition.

1.15 In Late February 2021, the National Transition Unit announced that the first tranche of $500 million of the $2.0 billion of ‘better off’ funding is now available. Applications open this month (March 2022) and close in August 2022 with funding being delivered from 1 July 2022.

1.16 Staff are compiling a list of Long Term Plan projects that would meet the ‘better off’ funding criteria. It is intended that the Council would consider this at its meeting on 19 May 2022.

1.17 The NTU has initiated a discovery phase which has the aim of “ensuring the right people have the right information at the right time to support the transition activities.” It aims to do this by “building relationships, trust and a common understanding between councils, the NTU and the new WSEs.”

1.18 Council staff have already been approached by the NTU to provide information as part of the discovery process. This will be an imposition on staff in addition to their ‘business as usual’ commitments. A record is being kept of the staff time involved to support the case for funding from the no worse off fund that the Government has promised.

1.19 The Waters Service Act 2021 mandated the establishment of a water regulator. On
15 November 2021, Taumata Arowai became the official water services regulator for Aotearoa. Taumata Arowai has the responsibility to set and enforce standards for the quality of drinking water and make sure suppliers throughout New Zealand are providing safe drinking water to their communities.

1.20 As part of the three waters reform, the Government has been considering regulatory safeguards to ensure that consumers and communities receive efficient and affordable three waters services that meet their needs both now and into the future.

1.21 In October 2021, the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) released a discussion paper on “Economic Regulation and Consumer Protection for Three Waters Services in New Zealand”.

1.22 In late 2021, MBIE consulted on how economic regulation and consumer protection should be designed. MBIE received 53 submissions on its discussion document. No further details on that have been released since submissions closed.

1.23 In November 2021 a group of councils joined together and signed a Memorandum of Understanding in relation to a Three Waters campaign. They have called themselves ‘Communities 4 Local Democracy’. As at 15 December 2021, the group comprised 23 councils from around the country purporting to represent over one million people.

1.24 The purpose of their campaign is to convince the Government to alter its intention to proceed with the legislation that will compel councils to transfer their three waters assets in the ownership and/or operational control of another legal entity without the agreement of an affected council to transfer. It pledges that campaign partners will engage with their communities and the Government to reach an agreement on a reform package that can appropriately meet all parties’ objectives.

1.25 At this stage the Council has not joined this campaign.

1.26 DIA established a Rural Supplies Technical Working Group that has met three times since its first meeting on 2 February 2022. The purpose of this Working Group is to inform;

• the proposed legislation to implement the Water Services Entities;

• wider policy development related to rural supplies within DIA and Taumata Arowai;

• the approach to implementation of water services regulation by Taumata Arowai; and

• areas of support required for rural communities.

1.27 This Working Group is still to report back on its discussion and recommendations.

1.28 The Council has not made any further decisions on three waters reform since the Full Council meeting on 29 September 2021.

1.29 The Operations Committee has the opportunity of reaffirming the Council’s position outlined in its resolution CN21-09-19 of 29 September 2021 in the knowledge that it intends undertaking public consultation as part of the submission process for the Water Services Entities Bill.

2 Draft Resolution

That the Operations Committee:

1. receives the Government's Three Waters Reform Proposal - Update on Progress report, ROC22-03-3; and

2. reaffirms the Council’s decision (CN21-09-19) of 29 September 2021; and

3. notes that the Council intends undertaking public consultation on the three water reforms once the Water Services Entities Bill is released for public consultation.

3 Purpose of the Report

3.1 The purpose of this report is to update the Operations Committee on progress made over the last few months on the Government’s Three Waters reform proposal. It also gives the Operations Committee an opportunity to confirm its current position on the reform proposal.

3.2 This report requests confirmation of its current position as the Council has not had the opportunity to undertake fully informed consultation with its community on the Three Waters reform proposal.

4 Background and Discussion

Context

4.1 In July 2020, the Government launched the Three Waters reform programme – a three-year programme to reform local government three waters service delivery arrangements.

4.2 At the same time, it announced a $761 million funding package to provide post COVID-19 stimulus to maintain and improve three waters infrastructure, support a three-year programme of reform of local government water service delivery arrangements (reform programme), and support the establishment of Taumata Arowai, the new Water Services Regulator.

4.3 In August 2020, the Council approved the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to remain engaged in the reform process. It was a non-binding commitment to receive initial funding for specific shovel-ready projects and continue to be involved in the reform process.

4.4 The Council agreed to sign the MoU and consequently received funding of $9.78 million to be spent on approved water, wastewater and stormwater projects by March 2022. The Council is on track to spend this funding.

4.5 In December 2020, the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) released a report conducted by the Water Industry Commission for Scotland (WICS), commissioned as part of the programme.

4.6 This Phase-1 report provided an early indicative view on the size of New Zealand’s three waters infrastructure deficit and the potential benefits of reform. Local government representatives expressed concerns over the validity of parts of this analysis, which led to a request for information from councils on their three waters assets and services.

4.7 In late December 2020, DIA issued a Request for Information (RFI) to all councils in the country. The RFI required the Council to provide specific data related to the three water activities. This data was then modelled and assessed by the Water Industry Commission of Scotland (WICS). This was submitted in early February 2021.

4.8 In June 2021, the DIA released the WICS report. It built on the findings of the earlier report to provide a more up-to-date analysis. The key findings were in three parts:

· Part 1 - The report’s modelling indicated that a future investment of $120 billion to $185 billion will be necessary at a national level, for New Zealand to meet current levels of compliance that water utilities in the UK achieve with European Union (EU) standards, over the next 30 years. (These standards were assessed by WICS to be broadly comparable with equivalent New Zealand standards).

· Part 2 – New Zealand’s Three Waters sector is in a broadly similar position to Scotland in 2002, in terms of relative operating efficiency and levels of service. In just under two decades, Scottish Water lowered its unit costs by 45% and closed the levels of service gap on the best-performing water companies in the UK. WICS considers that New Zealand can achieve similar outcomes to Scottish Water over a longer period (30 years).

· Part 3 – The WICS analysis showed that aggregation scenarios ranging from one to four entities provide the greatest opportunity for scale efficiencies and related benefits in terms of improved levels of service and more affordable household bills (when compared against the likely outcomes ‘without reform’).

Government Reform Package

4.9 In June 2021, concurrent with releasing the WICS Report, DIA presented the proposed reform proposal. The proposal comprised the establishment of four statutory, publicly-owned water services entities to provide safe, reliable and efficient water services.

4.10 Tasman District Council was included in Entity C with 21 other councils, including the three Top of the South councils, all the councils in the southern part and the eastern coast of the North Island. Entity C also includes the Chatham Islands. (The diagram below outlines the proposed four entities)

4.11 The governance structure for each of these entities comprised a Regional Representative Group (RRG) with an equal number of appointments from the councils and iwi within that entity. Preferably less the 10 representatives on the RRG but no more than 12 total.

4.12 The RRG would appoint an Independent Selection Panel which would appoint a board to govern the entity.

4.13 The entity board would then appoint a Chief Executive to the entity who would employ the necessary resources and manage the entity.

Financial Support Package

4.14 On 15 July 2021, the Government announced a financial support package of $2.5 billion to support the local government sector through the transition to the new water services delivery system and to position the sector for the future. There are two broad components to this support package:

• $2 billion of funding to invest in the future of local government and community well-being, while also meeting priorities for government investment (the “better off” component) and;

• $500 million to ensure that no local authority is financially worse off as a direct result of the reform (the “no worse off” component).

4.15 The “better off” component of the support package, which comprises $1 billion Crown funding and $1 billion from the new water services entities, is allocated to territorial authorities based on a nationally consistent formula that considers population, relative deprivation and land area. This formula recognises the relative needs of local communities, the unique challenges facing local authorities in meeting those needs and differences across the country in the ability to pay for those needs.

4.16 An indicative amount of $22,542,967 has been allocated from this “better off” funding should the Council continue to be involved in the three waters reform programme. There are criteria on when and how this funding will be released.

4.17 Councils will be required to demonstrate that the use of this funding supports the three waters service delivery reform objectives and other local wellbeing outcomes and aligns with the priorities of central and local government, through meeting some or all the following criteria:

· supporting communities to transition to a sustainable and low-emissions economy, including by building resilience to climate change and natural hazards; and

· delivery of infrastructure and/or services that:

o enable housing development and growth, with a focus on brownfield and infill development opportunities where those are available; and

o support local place-making and improvements in community well-being.

4.18 The “no worse off” component of the support package is intended to address the costs and financial impacts on territorial authorities directly because of the three waters reform programme and associated transfer of assets, liabilities, and revenues to new water services entities. It includes an allocation of up to $250 million to support councils to meet unavoidable costs of stranded overheads, based on:

· One hundred and fifty million dollars ($150 million) allocated to councils (excluding Auckland, Christchurch and councils involved in Wellington Water) based on a per capita rate that is adjusted recognising that smaller councils face disproportionately greater potential stranded costs than larger councils;

· Up to $50 million allocated to the Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington Water councils excluded above based on a detailed assessment of two years of reasonable and unavoidable stranded costs directly resulting from the Water Transfer, as the nationally- consistent formula is likely to overstate the stranded costs for these councils due to their significantly greater scale and population. Stranded costs should be lower with respect to Watercare, and Wellington Water as these Council Controlled Organisations have already undertaken a transfer of water services responsibilities, albeit to varying degrees; and

· Up to $50 million able to be allocated to councils that have demonstrable, unavoidable and materially greater stranded costs than provided for by the per capita rate (the process for determining this will be developed by the Department of Internal Affairs working closely with Local Government New Zealand).

4.19 The remainder of the no worse off component will be used to address adverse impacts on the financial sustainability of territorial authorities. This will require a due diligence process that is still being worked through.

4.20 In addition to the support package, the Government expects to meet the reasonable costs associated with the transfer of assets, liabilities, and revenue to new water services entities, including staff involvement in working with the establishment entities and transition unit and provision for reasonable legal, accounting and audit costs. There is an allocation for these costs within the $296 million tagged contingency announced as part of the 2021 Budget package for transition and implementation activities. This allocation is additional to the $2.5 billion support package.

4.21 DIA is continuing to work with LGNZ and Taituarā (previously Society of Local Government Managers), including through the joint Steering Committee process, to develop the process for accessing the various components of the support package outlined above, including conditions that would be attached to any funding. More information and guidance will be made available in the coming months.

Council Deliberations and Decision 29 September 2021

4.22 At its meeting on 29 September 2021 the Council considered a detailed report on the proposals and passed the following resolution;

CN21-09-19

That the Full Council:

1. receives the Three Waters Reform Programme report, RCN21-09-10, and;

2. notes the analysis of the three waters information provided to Council, the impacts and the service delivery options available to the Council at this time, and;

3. notes that from a financial perspective the sensitivity analysis indicates that there may be a financial case for change for the Tasman District, but the other non-financial factors relating to governance, ratepayer concerns, ongoing Council influence on the Water Service Entity and the impacts, benefits, issues and risks of reform may influence the Council’s final decision, and;

4. notes that a decision to support the Government’s preferred three waters service delivery option is not lawful (would be ultra vires) at present due to section 130 of the Local Government Act 2002 (LGA), which prohibits the Council from divesting its ownership or interest in a water service except to another local government organisation, and what we currently know about the Government’s preferred option, and;

5. notes that if the Council chooses to opt out of the Three Waters Reform then the Water Services Bill, in its current form, should non-Council supplies not be able to meet standards and requirements from Taumata Arowai, those non-Councils supplies will default to the Council for delivery (this will affect a significant number of community and small rural supplies and will be beyond the Council’s ability to resource currently), and;

6. notes that the Council cannot make a formal decision on its three waters service delivery without doing a Long Term Plan (LTP) amendment and ensuring it meets section 130 of the LGA, and;

7. notes that the Government intends to make further decisions about the three waters service delivery model after 30 September 2021, and;

8. agrees that it is vital to gain an understanding of the community’s views once the Council has further information from the Government on the next steps in the reform process, and;

9. agrees that the reforms as currently proposed, do not respond to the concerns widely expressed by this and other councils, and that if those concerns are not addressed, the Council would likely not support the reform programme as proposed; and

10. notes that the Council’s position is that its territorial boundary remains intact, and;

11. authorises the Mayor to formally write to the Minister of Local Government requesting an extension in the Three Waters Reform timeline to enable:

a) a comprehensive information campaign be undertaken by the Government to inform the community of the proposed three waters reform and options; and

b) greater clarity to be obtained on the Water Entity governance arrangements and in particular the influence Tasman District Council will have on the prioritisation of the capital and renewal investment within the Tasman District; and

c) better understanding the impacts of the Water Services Bill in terms of the responsibilities that will be transferred to the new Water Service Entity and those that remain with the Council; and

d) more certainty be obtained on the financial transition arrangements to the Water Services Entity and the associated impacts; and

e) better understanding of the Government’s position on transferring the Council’s interests and associated debt in the Waimea Community Dam into the Water Service Entity; and

f) the Council to have greater certainty of the Three Waters Reform in the context of the Future of Local Government Review; and

g) consideration of alternatives; and

h) noting that the reforms as currently proposed, do not respond to the concerns widely expressed by this and other councils, and that if those concerns are not addressed, the Council would likely not support the reform programme as proposed; and

12. agrees that any support the Council may give to its water services moving to the control of a water entity is likely to be subject to the Council’s interest in the Waimea Community Dam and associated rights and financial commitments, (including all Council debt and operational costs) being transferred to the new entity, otherwise the Council would likely opt out subject to public consultation; and

13. notes that Council staff will report back with advice once further information and guidance has been received from the Government, Local Government New Zealand and Taituarā on the next steps; and

14. notes that the Council’s Significance and Engagement Policy lists the three waters as significant activities and this along with the provisions of the Local Government Act 2002 require a special consultative procedure on a Long Term Plan variation proposal before any decision can be made to opt in or opt out of the Three Waters Reform Programme; and

15. notes that the Council’s Significance and Engagement Policy also lists the Council’s Shareholding in Waimea Water Ltd (Waimea Community Dam) as a strategic asset, and that the current agreements for the project do not allow the Council to transfer its interest in the dam; and

16. agrees that the Government needs to own and front the need for change with our communities and iwi partners, including co-ordination of any consultation process; and

17. agrees that the inclusion of stormwater is problematic and a full examination of the impacts, options and costs including on the Council’s roading, regulatory and parks and reserves functions is required; and

18. notes that all feedback is subject to the assumption that all councils are included in the reforms for the current proposal to be viable.

4.23 Mayor King wrote to the Minister of Local Government on 30 September 2022 and included all the items requested by the Council under Clause 11 of Resolution CN21-09-19.

4.24 On 7 March 2022 the Acting Executive Director, Three Waters Reform Programme, wrote to the Council’s Chief Executive thanking the Council for its feedback on the proposals. This letter referred to a published detailed summary that had been issued by the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) and Taituarā in October 2021. The letter confirmed that the feedback had been valuable and continues to influence the shape of the three waters reform.

4.25 Following the October 2021 feedback, DIA implemented changes to the reform process and proposals. These following changes were made as a direct result of the council feedback.

DIA Changes to the Original Proposal (November 2021)

4.26 The most common theme in the feedback related to the representation, governance, and accountability of the new entities. In response to feedback, the Government made a number of changes to the original proposal. In summary, these were:

a) greater flexibility for each Regional Representative Group (RRG) to determine its own arrangements through a constitution – this differs from the original proposal, which required several matters to be hard-wired in primary legislation providing limited room for flexibility.

b) board appointments and removals to be made by a sub-committee of the regional representative group – the original proposal was for these powers to be exercised by an arms-length ‘independent selection panel’ which has now been removed.

c) direct accountability for duties imposed on the board to the regional representative group – members may be removed for failure to carry out these duties.

d) the board is required to give effect to the Statement of Strategic and Performance Expectations (SSPE) issued by the RRG – this is a stronger provision than originally proposed and enables the group to have more direct influence over the entity’s strategic direction.

4.27 These refinements are set out in an exposure draft of the proposed legislation (Water Services Entities Bill). The exposure draft also sets out the proposed ownership provisions for the new entities and protections against privatisation

4.28 As a whole the above four changes were intended to strengthen of the owner voice in the overall governance of, and direction-setting process for the entities. At the same time, it was noted that these changes would not weaken the operational control the entity Board and management would have.

Working Group on Governance, Representation and Accountability of new Water Services Entities

4.29 Up until October 2021, the councils were given the option of ‘opting in’ or ‘opting out’ of the reforms. In October 2021, the Government announced it would introduce legislation to establish four new publicly owned Water Service Entities (WSEs) to manage the three waters infrastructure that currently is primarily owned, managed and operated by councils.

4.30 In effect the option of opting out was removed from councils with the reforms being mandated through legislation. There was some significant pushback from the councils and the wider community to this decision.

4.31 The Government noted the adverse feedback from local government regarding the governance, representation and accountability aspects of its proposal. It therefore established an independent working group comprising representatives from local government and iwi/Māori to consider how governance, representation and accountability arrangements for WSEs could be strengthened.

4.32 The members of the Working Group were;

· Doug Martin (Chair)

· Mayor Phil Goff, Auckland

· Mayor Dr Jason Smith, Kaipara

· Mayor Garry Webber, Western Bay of Plenty

· Mayor Neil Holdom, New Plymouth

· Mayor Campbell Barry, Lower Hutt

· Mayor Rachel Reese, Nelson

· Mayor Lianne Dalziel, Christchurch

· Mayor Tim Cadogan, Central Otago

· Mayor Lyn Patterson, Masterton

4.33 The Terms of Reference (ToR) for this Working Group was primarily focused on the governance, representation, and accountability aspects of the new Water Services Entities. The ToR did not include any consideration of the Government’s wider three waters reform proposal that included the creation of four water service entities across the country.

Governance, Representation and Accountability Working Group Report

4.34 The report of the Three Waters Governance Representation and Accountability Working Group (the Working Group) was publicly released on Tuesday 8 March 2022.

4.35 The Working Group’s Report has 47 recommendations (Attachment 1).

4.36 The commentary and recommendations in the Working Group report have been presented within the framework of the Government’s so-called bottom lines. These bottom-lines are:

a) the entities remain in public ownership;

b) the entities have balance sheet separation from their local authority owners;

c) good governance, and

d) that any new model should protect/promote iwi/Māori rights and interests.

4.37 The Working Group’s report has provisions which, if adopted, would strengthen two of the Water Services Entities Bill’s provisions against the privatisation of water services:

• any sale, privatisation, merger, or proposal to change ownership of an entity requires the unanimous consent of the local authority owners (and the owners will have a ‘vote’ for this purpose) and

• the report proposes entrenching the anti-privatisation provisions in the Bill so that any legislative amendment would require the support of 75 per cent of MPs. This is probably the closest Parliament can come to ruling out any future law change to allow for privatisation (readers might reflect on the likelihood of 75 per cent of Parliament agreeing on any controversial proposal).

Recommended Changes to Ownership Model

4.38 The Working Group’s report proposes a significant change to the ownership model. There would be a relatively simple form of shareholding. Each owner would receive one share per 50,000 population (rounded up, so a local authority with a population of less than 50,000 would receive one share).

4.39 The ‘voting rights’ that attach to these shares would apply only in the case of proposals involving the sale, privatisation, merger or proposal to change ownership of an entity. So, for example, it appears voting rights would not apply to the selection of a RRG or board appointment committee.

4.40 There is a further protection proposed against loss of local voice. The Working Group proposes that RRG decision-making be done on a consensus basis, with 75 per cent majorities required if a decision cannot be reached within a set time.

Recommended extension to Powers of the Regional Representative Group (RRG)

4.41 The Working Group proposes some clarifications around membership of RRG. The RRG would consist of a minimum of 12 and a maximum of 14 members, with selection of local authority and iwi representatives in the entity constitutions. Each RRG would be co-chaired by a local authority representative and an iwi representative.

4.42 In addition to the changes indicated above the RRG would also be given a further two levers to influence entity direction:

• the power of approval over entity statements of intent – this goes beyond the ability to comment on a draft. This gives the RRG power to not only set the strategic direction for the entity, but also gives the RRG right of approval over how the Board interprets this at a strategic level. This is stronger than the equivalent requirement for Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs).

• the power to comment on water entities' operational direction in the Asset Management Plan and other key documents – again stronger than the equivalent provisions for CCOs.

4.43 Regional sub-RRGs are provided for in the legislation. Other than 50/50 co-governance between council and iwi/hapū, composition and number of advisory groups (sub-RRGs) will be left to individual Water Service Entity constitutions.

4.44 Taken as a whole, these would strengthen the accountability of the entities to RRG quite considerably. There are risks that this might extend into direction at operational level. Note that neither the Working Group’s report nor the changes already made have been discussed with the rating agencies.

Te Tiriti a significant feature of the Report

4.45 In addition to changes described above, the report makes eight further recommendations that go to the Treaty relationship or would better infuse Te Mana o Te Wai into the proposed Water Services Entities Bill.

4.46 These eight recommendations are outlined as follows;

• the Crown and Minister are required to give effect to Te Tiriti and its principles when exercising powers and functions under the legislation (including in issuing the government policy statement and in monitoring, review, and intervention powers).

• the Crown, in developing its policy statement, should engage with its Te Tiriti partner, separate from any public consultation.

• a guarantee in legislation that nothing creates or transfers proprietary interests in water, or limits, extinguishes, or otherwise adversely affects or constrains iwi or hapū authority over, or rights and interests in, water.

• Treaty settlement mechanisms related to current legal provisions such as in the Resource Management Act and Local Government Act are carried across in the reform legislation.

• the Crown provides equitable resourcing to enable the full and effective participation of iwi and hapū in the three waters.

• Te Mana o te Wai is an overarching objective guiding decision making, planning, governance, accountability, and service delivery. This should be defined in the Water Services Entities Bill to ensure that Te Mana o te Wai encompasses the interconnection with, and the health and well-being of, all water bodies affected by three waters. It should be given effect to at all levels of the framework, including by the Minister in developing the Government Policy Statement; by the RRG in the development of the Statement of Strategic and Performance Expectations (SSPE) and Statement of Intent (SOI); in asset management plans and infrastructure strategies.

• the Crown furthers work to design inclusive communications and processes to support the embedding of Te Mana o te Wai in the community.

Establishment of the National Transition Unit

4.47 Following the Government decisions on mandating the three water reforms, they have established a National Transition Unit (NTU) to oversee the implementation of the reforms. On Tuesday 16 November 2021, the Director of the Three Waters National Transition Unit sent correspondence outlining the recent developments in the three waters reform and the path forward from this date.

4.48 The NTU is accountable to the Chief Executive of DIA and the Minister of Local Government.

4.49 The NTU is a new, dedicated business unit located within Te Tari Taiwhenua Department of Internal Affairs (DIA). It is separate from, but works closely with, the team responsible for leading the three waters reform programme and legislation.

4.50 The National Transition Board comprises members with expertise relevant for governing a highly complex and challenging transition process will also be appointed to support the transition. The NTU Board Members as announced on 23 February 2022 are;

• Sir Brian Roche (chair) has direct experience in the establishment and operation of organisations. His roles over many years have created a skill base and perspective directly related to many of the complex financial, operational and policy issues associated with the successful establishment of the entities. He chairs Waka Kotahi NZTA and the COVID-19 Independent Continuous Review, Improvement and Advice Group.

• John Duncan has extensive experience in management and global financial markets, including banking and risk management. He is a Deputy Chair of Kāinga Ora and the Public Trust, and an advisor to Auckland City Council on funding, risk management, and balance sheet and capital issues.

• Fiona Mules started her career as an investment banker specialising in transactions and valuations. After a decade in the private sector, Fiona was brought in by Treasury to help establish a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) programme in New Zealand. Fiona is currently an independent director of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Lyttelton Port Company and Rural Livestock. She is also a Member of the Southern Response Earthquake Services Independent Oversight Committee for government.

• Rukumoana Schaafhausen (Ngati Haua) is a lawyer with significant governance experience. She was recently the Chair of Te Arataura, Waikato-Tainui and is currently serving across a number of iwi, community, private and public organisations in governance roles including Contact Energy, AgResearch, Miro Berries, Te Waharoa Investments, Tindall Foundation and The Princes Trust.

• Richard Wagstaff is the President of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU). He was previously NZCTU Vice President and National Secretary of the Public Service Association. He is also a member of the International Labour Organisation’s Governing Body.

• Peter Winder is an experienced director, chief executive and senior manager in local and central government and the private sector. He is a Council Member and Establishment Board Member of Te Pūkenga, the Chair of Unitech and Manukau Institute of Technology. He is also a former Chief Executive of Auckland Regional Council and Local Government New Zealand.

4.51 The Chief Executive of the NTU is Heather Shotter. Heather is responsible for establishing the four new water services entities that will deliver the three waters to people across New Zealand. Heather came from the Palmerston North City Council where she is Chief Executive and was previously Executive Director of the Committee for Auckland, which promotes positive social and economic development. Heather has extensive senior leadership experience across the public, for-profit and not-for-profit sectors, and brings proven expertise in managing complex transitions and delivering well-balanced outcomes. She is a member of the Joint Central/Local Government Three Waters Steering Group and the Local Government Infrastructure Reference Group.

4.52 From November 2021 to 1 July 2024, the transition from the current system to the new one will take place. The NTU will ensure the transition is efficient, effective and minimises disruption to communities and consumers. The NTU will deliver a consistent and coordinated nationwide approach to the transition from the 67 councils who are currently responsible for water services to the new system.

4.53 From 1 July 2024, four new water services entities will deliver drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater services to people across New Zealand. From November 2021 to 1 July 2024, the transition from the current system to the new one will take place.

4.54 The NTU will ensure the transition is efficient, effective and minimises disruption to communities and consumers. The NTU will deliver a consistent and coordinated nationwide approach to the transition from the 67 councils who are currently responsible for water services to the new system. The NTU will work alongside councils, iwi/Māori, industry, and the wider water sector to make the transition successful.

Local Establishment Entities

4.55 In 2022, the NTU will set up four Local Establishment Entities (LEEs), which will support the local transition in their area. Each LEE will have a Board and Chief Executive.

4.56 Each LEE Board will be made up of three to six members, appointed by the Minister of Local Government through a process led by the NTU and involving consultation with councils and iwi/Māori. There would be similar competency requirements to those for the permanent entity boards, including requirements related to the Treaty of Waitangi, mātauranga Māori, tikanga Māori, and te ao Māori.

4.57 Specific additional competencies will relate to undertaking transition activities and overseeing transformation/change management. The LEE Chief Executives will be appointed through a process led by the NTU.

4.58 On 1 July 2024, these four LEEs will become the four water services entities.

4.59 The NTU will deliver and coordinate the transition process and is responsible for ensuring the objectives are considered in planning and decision making.

4.60 The NTU will determine which transition activities are best undertaken by LEEs, which will be formally created as statutory entities in 2022 following the passage of the Water Services Entities Bill.

4.61 The activities delegated to LEEs will likely include those that require local knowledge and understanding, or where tasks need to be carried out in partnership with particular councils and iwi/hapū. The work of LEEs is likely to involve the practical implementation of nationally agreed principles or approaches set by the NTU.

Partnership and Collaboration

4.62 The NTU will partner with iwi/Māori through both the transition and the organisational design of the water services entities, ensuring it honours the Crown’s Treaty obligations. Iwi/Māori will be supported to contribute to the transition, and a key objective of the wider Three Waters reform programme is to enhance capacity and capability of iwi/Māori in this sector to improve wellbeing.

4.63 Councils will continue to be responsible for the delivery of water services until 30 June 2024. They will also play a significant role in the transition to the new water services entities. The knowledge and expertise of council staff working in water services will strongly inform the structures and processes for the new water services entities. Councils will have regular opportunities to input through advisory and working groups, secondments, and other methods. Councils also have a role supporting the nomination of appropriately qualified people into governance roles to assist with the transition.

4.64 The NTU will develop a process and criteria for providing financial and/or staffing support to councils to minimise disruption to their business-as-usual stemming from their involvement in the transition. This will include centralised procurement of external support for councils. Where councils work together on an entity-wide basis to engage in the transition, administrative support will be provided by the NTU and/or LEE. The NTU will also have a dedicated Relationship Lead to facilitate constructive engagement.

Resourcing the WSE Workforce

4.65 The new water services entities will require skilled and capable workforces. Retaining staff and supporting their wellbeing through the change is a key priority. To enable this, all current council employees who work primarily in water services (except senior executives) will be eligible to transfer their employment to the new water services entity in their area on 1 July 2024. Additionally, the new entities’ work programmes are expected to create significant new opportunities for employment growth, specialisation, and increased career opportunities.

4.66 Both the NTU and LEEs will work closely with existing water services staff at councils, to best make use of their local institutional knowledge and expertise. This will include seeking their input through a variety of working and/or reference groups, and through secondments.

4.67 The new water services entities will require skilled and capable workforces. Retaining staff and supporting their wellbeing through the change is a key priority. To enable this, all current council employees who work primarily in water services (except senior executives) will be eligible to transfer their employment to the new water services entity in their area on 1 July 2024. Employees on individual employment agreements will be offered new standardised terms and conditions of employment that are overall no less favourable than their current core terms and conditions of employment.

4.68 Employees who, at 1 January 2023, are union members, and whose work is covered by a collective agreement, will either transfer on the same terms of that collective agreement or on new collective agreements with the establishment entities to be negotiated by their unions and ratified by union members during the transition period.

4.69 Local government employees who only partially undertake functions that will be transferred to the new water services entities will not automatically be eligible to transfer and will remain employees of the councils. However, there will be new roles established in the entities to do the work that these employees do as part of their job now. This will provide opportunities for these employees to move to roles in the entities.

4.70 A recent report by Deloitte notes that significant growth – of up to 80 per cent – is anticipated in the water sector workforce, growing from around 9,000 today to 17,000 in 30 years. This presents significant opportunities for employment growth, specialisation, and increased career opportunities.

4.71 The NTU will work alongside the sector to develop an Industry Transformation Strategy to ensure this opportunity for increasing opportunities in the sector is embraced and owned by the sector.

National Transition Unit - Update February 2022

4.72 The National Transition Unit announced that the first tranche of $500 million of the $2.0 billion of ‘better off’ funding is now available. Applications open this month (March 2022) and close August 2022 with funding being delivered from 1 July 2022.

4.73 This is part of the total $2.0 billion ‘better off’ funding of which the Council has been allocated $22.543 million. So, if this was pro-rated then Council would expect to get 25% of the $22.543 million which would be $5.636 million.

4.74 Staff are compiling a list of LTP projects that would meet the ‘better off’ funding criteria. It is intended that the Council would consider this at its meeting on 19 May 2022.

4.75 The NTU has indicated support for councils that have staff involved in the transition process and have noted that staff are already busy with ‘business as usual’. The NTU is conscious of the size of the job being asked of councils and has promised to make sure council’s ‘business as usual’ does not suffer. Financial support will be available to help councils meet the cost of engagement in the transition. It is still working through the details of this and expect to have more to announce soon.

4.76 The NTU has established four Transition Reference Groups (TRG) to inform and advise on the work required to create the new entities. The four TRGs are;

a) People and Workforce

b) Finance and Corporate Services

c) Commercial and Legal

d) Asset Management, Operations and Stormwater

4.77 Councils were asked to nominate staff to these TRG’s in mid-February 2022. To date the composition of these groups has not been confirmed.

4.78 The Council has already received requests for information from the NTU regarding its current staff positions in the three water activities. Any staff involved in gathering such information for the NTU are allocating their time separately so that it can be collated and for the basis of a claim for reimbursement as required. The Council will recall that the government has set aside funding to ensure that councils are no worse of during the transition and establishment of the new entities.

Discovery Phase

4.79 The NTU has initiated a discovery phase which has the aim of “ensuring the right people have the right information at the right time to support the transition activities.” It aims to do this by “building relationships, trust and a common understanding between councils, the NTU and the new WSEs.”

4.80 The NTU has adopted six key objectives to meet these aims. Essentially these objectives focus on enabling a smooth transition of people, assets, and operations so that the WSEs can operate and provide services to its customers from 1 July 2024.

4.81 The NTU has divided the work programme in several workstreams. These are outlined as follows;

· People and Workforce

· Operations

· Stormwater

· Asset Management

· Data and digital

· Finance and corporate

· Commercial and legal

· Iwi

4.82 Each workstream has a reference group appointed. The NTU has appointed leads to each workstream and representatives from various sectors including local government are involved in the workstream reference groups.

4.83 There are other teams that have been established to work across these workstreams. These include communications, engagement, and customer focus.

Taumata Arowai – Water Regulator

4.84 The Waters Service Act 2021 mandated the establishment of a water regulator. On
15 November 2021, Taumata Arowai became the official water services regulator for Aotearoa.

4.85 Taumata Arowai has the responsibility to set and enforce standards for the quality of drinking water and make sure suppliers throughout New Zealand are providing safe drinking water to their communities.

4.86 The Council, as a drinking water supplier, has always had the responsibility to make sure the water it provides is safe. Now the Council must report to Taumata Arowai if for any reason safe drinking water could be compromised at any time. The Council will need to:

· take immediate action to protect public health;

· keep its consumers informed;

· notify Taumata Arowai of what has happened and the Council’s response;

· call Taumata Arowai if there’s an immediate risk of serious illness, injury or death arising from the Council’s drinking water supply and where the situation can’t be immediately controlled.

4.87 The Council also has other additional reporting requirements. These were detailed in the Water and Wastes Manager’s report to the Council on 24February 2022 – ROC22-03-3 “Implications of the Water Services Act 2021”.

4.88 Over the next few months, Taumata Arowai will be reaching out to registered drinking water suppliers to set them up in its new web-based self-service portal, Hinekōrako.

4.89 An unregistered water supplier has up to four years to register with Taumata Arowai and up to seven years to provide a drinking water safety plan and comply with other requirements under the Water Services Act 2021. In the meantime, each water supplier must still ensure the drinking water it supplies is safe.

4.90 Taumata Arowai is consulting on the documents below and is requesting feedback. It intends utilising the feedback to help inform its first set of regulations established under the Water Services Act 2021. The documents are:

• Drinking Water Standards

• Drinking Water Quality Assurance Rules

• Drinking Water Aesthetic Values

• Drinking Water Acceptable Solution for Roof Water Supplies

• Drinking Water Acceptable Solution for Spring and Bore Water Supplies

• Drinking Water Acceptable Solution for Rural Agricultural Water Supplies

• Drinking Water Network Environmental Performance

Protecting Three Waters Consumer Interests

4.91 As part of the three waters reform, the Government has been considering regulatory safeguards to ensure that consumers and communities receive efficient and affordable three waters services that meet their needs both now and into the future. Key areas for consideration included:

• economic regulation to help consumers from problems that can occur when businesses have a lot of market power. This could involve requiring businesses to disclose certain information, directly regulating the price and quality of services, and setting a strong efficiency challenge for regulated businesses; and

• consumer protection, to incorporate the voices of consumers and communities should be incorporated throughout the design of the three waters regulatory system, to ensure it is responsive and accountable. This could involve requiring businesses to meet minimum service levels, providing protections for vulnerable consumers, or establishing a consumer disputes resolution scheme.

4.92 In October 2021, MBIE released a discussion paper on “Economic Regulation and Consumer Protection for Three Waters Services in New Zealand”.

4.93 In late 2021, MBIE consulted on how economic regulation and consumer protection should be designed. MBIE received 53 submissions on its discussion document.

4.94 No further details have been released since submissions closed.

Communities 4 Local Democracy

4.95 There has been considerable pushback from some councils since the three waters reform proposals were presented by the Government.

4.96 In November 2021 a group of councils joined together and signed a Memorandum of Understanding in relation to a Three Waters campaign. They have called themselves ‘Communities 4 Local Democracy’. At 15 December 2021, the group comprised 23 councils from around the country purporting to represent over one million people.

4.97 The purpose of their campaign is to convince the Government to alter its intention to proceed with the legislation that will compel councils to transfer their three waters assets in the ownership and/or operational control of another legal entity without the agreement of an affected council to transfer. It pledges that campaign partners will engage with their communities and the government to reach an agreement on a reform package that can appropriately meet all parties’ objectives.

4.98 At this stage, the Council has not joined the campaign.

4.99 ‘Communities 4 Local Democracy’ has stated that it is taking a constructive approach to the situation by commissioning expert advice on alternative models that might achieve the objectives of the Government and local communities. It says will be sharing its findings when they are complete. There is no timeline as to when this will be completed.

4.100 They have established a web page; www.communities4localdemocracy.co.nz

Rural Supplies Technical Working Group

4.101 The Rural Supplies Technical Working Group has been established by the Department of Internal Affairs. It had its first meeting on 2 February 2022 and has met three times since.

4.102 The purpose of the Working Group is to inform:

• the proposed legislation to implement the Water Services Entities;

• wider policy development related to rural supplies within DIA and Taumata Arowai;

• the approach to implementation of water services regulation by Taumata Arowai; and

• areas of support required for rural communities.

4.103 The Working Group intends developing principles and agreeing on how parties will work together to manage the impacts on rural drinking water suppliers and rural communities and develop recommendations to inform advice to Ministers on the proposed legislation.

4.104 We understand that amongst other topics related to rural schemes, this working group is addressing three substantive topics – rural marae water supply schemes, transfer principles, pricing and charging.

4.105 This Working Group is still to report back on its discussion and recommendations.

4.106 The Council initiated a webinar on Wednesday 16 March 2022 for rural water suppliers to listen to a presentation from Taumata Arowai on the implications of the Water Services Act for rural waters supplies. At least 125 people logged onto that webinar. Copies of the webinar and notes are available from the Council.

5 Tasman District Council’s Position on Three Waters Reform Proposal

5.1 The Council has not made any further decisions on three waters reform since its meeting on 29 September 2021. The resolutions (CN21-09-19) from that meeting are included in this report under clause 4.23.

5.2 Most of the resolutions are notes regarding the three water reforms. However, the Council did agree;

• that it is vital to gain an understanding of the community’s views once the Council has further information from the Government on the next steps in the reform process, and;

• that the reforms as currently proposed, do not respond to the concerns widely expressed by this and other councils, and that if those concerns are not addressed, the Council would likely not support the reform programme as proposed; and

• that any support the Council may give to its water services moving to the control of a water entity is likely to be subject to the Council’s interest in the Waimea Community Dam and associated rights and financial commitments, (including all Council debt and operational costs) being transferred to the new entity, otherwise the Council would likely opt out subject to public consultation; and

• that the Government needs to own and front the need for change with our communities and iwi partners, including co-ordination of any consultation process; and

• that the inclusion of stormwater is problematic and a full examination of the impacts, options and costs including on the Council’s roading, regulatory and parks and reserves functions is required.

5.3 Since making these decisions, there have been some changes as the reform process has evolved.

5.4 Firstly, the Council has no option to opt out. The Water Services Entity Bill intends to mandate transfer of the three waters activities to the new WSE.

5.5 Secondly, the Council has not had the opportunity to undertake fully informed consultation with its community. This is primarily because it is a Government initiative and the Council would only be the messenger. Also, the details around the reforms are constantly changing and some detail is still to be confirmed by the Government. There will be an opportunity for the Council to undertake some consultation. That should be when the Water Services Entities Bill has been referred to a select committee and open for public submissions. In anticipation of this, the Council is preparing information to enable it to undertake the necessary public consultation at the appropriate time. The feedback from that consultation will help the Council finalise its submission to the Select Committee. It should be noted that anyone within the community could also submit to the Select Committee at the same time.

5.6 Thirdly, there has been no further progress made regarding the Council’s interest in the Waimea Community Dam. The NTU is aware that this aspect needs to be decided. It is planning a visit to the Council and the dam site during the week of 28 March 2022 to better understand the situation.

5.7 Fourthly, there has been a stormwater reference group established to explore the options on how stormwater can be transferred to the new WSEs without compromising any other Council activities affected by such a transfer.

5.8 The Operations Committee has the opportunity to reaffirm the Council’s position outlined in its resolution CN21-09-19 of 29 September 2022 in the knowledge that it intends undertaking public consultation as part of the submission process for the Water Services Entities Bill.

6 Options

6.1 Given that the Minister has indicated mandating involvement in the reforms, there are limited options open to the Council.

6.2 This report is giving the Operations Committee the opportunity of reaffirming the Council’s decision (CN21-09-19) of 29 September 2021 in the knowledge that the Council intends undertaking public consultation as part of the public consultation on the Water Service Entities Bill.

6.3 The Operations Committee could recommend that the Council join the “Communities 4 Local Democracy” group of councils, however that is not recommended at this stage.

6.4 It is likely that the Council will reviews it 29 September 2021 decision once it has completed public consultation on the Water Services Entities Bill.

7 Strategy and Risks

7.1 The Government has indicated that it intends mandating that all councils opt in to the three waters reform proposals. The Minister had originally stated her preference that all councils participate in the national discussion and eventually opt-in. However, during those discussions, it became clear that there was considerable opposition across the local government sector and the Minister has subsequently decided to mandate the implementation of the three waters reform proposal.

7.2 The Council needs to ensure that through the transition process its interests are protected and that transfer of skills, resources and assets is undertaken as efficiently and effectively as possible.

7.3 This report gives the Operations Committee an opportunity to reaffirm the Council’s decision of 29^th September 2021. Several Councils have joined up to oppose the reforms. This Council has not joined that group. Up until now its anecdotal view has been that it recognises the need for reform within at least the water and wastewater activities, but it does not support the proposal creating four water services entities.

7.4 The three waters reform proposal has put the southern part of the district (that part within the Ngāi Tahu takiwā boundary) in Entity D. The Council has stated its preference that the whole of the Tasman District be included in whatever entity the Council is allocated. This aspect is with DIA and to date is still to be resolved.

7.5 It should also be noted that the Government has launched a wider review of local government. This is a wide-ranging review that is being undertaken over the next two to three years. Although not directly related to the three waters reform, it will likely address the consequences or impacts of the reform.

8 Policy / Legal Requirements / Plan

.8.1 The Long Term Plan 2021-2031 does refer to the pending three waters reform and that it could impact on the Council’s involvement in owning and delivery the three waters services. The budgets are based on the three waters remaining with the Council for the next 10 years.

8.2 Any legal aspects associated with the three waters reform are likely to be dealt with in new or amendments to existing Government legislation. At this stage there are no legal requirements that need to be considered by the Council, other than those outlined in the section 13 (Options) and section 18 (Significance and Engagement) of this report.

9 Consideration of Financial or Budgetary Implications

9.1 Although the three waters reform will eventually have significant financial and budgetary implications, the Government has been clear that councils will not be financially disadvantaged with the three waters reform.

9.2 As stated previously, the budgets in the Council’s LTP 2021-2031 are based on the three waters remaining in the Council’s ownership.

9.3 The NTU has begun the transitionary process with the aim of completing it by 1 July 2024 when the WSEs take over the three waters. We assume that under the proposed transitional programme, the Council would transfer assets to the water entity and be repaid the associated loans. It will be important to ensure that amount of debt linked to the water assets are accurate and can be substantiated. Councils are likely to have to also transfer any water activity reserves that are in credit along with any three water development charges collected but not spent, to the new WSEs.

9.4 The Council could repay its loans including loans from LGFA in 2024 and we could unwind our associated derivative (Interest rate swap) position. Due to the amount of debt and hedges involved, a carefully managed transition would be important to minimise the Council’s transaction costs.

9.5 Other income currently used to reduce the rates along with fees and charges for the three waters activities would not transfer to the new water entity. That would comprise the Enterprise Activity Income supporting the Waimea Community Dam funding and the Port Nelson and Nelson Airport dividends.

9.6 The three water reforms potentially create headroom for the Council to complete capital expenditure that currently does not fit within our financial headroom.

9.7 The water entities would be new entrants in New Zealand’s capital markets providing alternative debt instruments for investors. The Council will need to monitor developments but is it likely they will not have an unfavorable impact on LGFA shareholders or guarantors. We do, however, expect a possible increase in borrowing costs for councils due to the additional competition in capital markets.

10 Significance and Engagement

10.1 As stated in previous reports to the Council, the three waters activities are listed as a strategic asset in the Council’s Significance and Engagement Policy. Therefore, under current legislation, any decision transferring ownership or control of the three waters activities will require statutory processes to be followed including formal public consultation with the community and an amendment to the LTP 2021-2031.

10.2 Part 6 of the Local Government Act 2020 (LGA), sections 76 to 90, provide the requirements for decision making and consultation, including the principles of consultation and information that needs to be provided including the reasons for the proposal and the reasonably practicable options.

10.3 Section 76 requires that in making a significant decision, which is a decision on what the future management and or ownership of three waters assets will be, councils must comply with the decision-making provisions. This is a ‘higher bar’ than the “promote compliance with” that applies for ordinary decisions.

10.4 Section 77 states that councils must seek to identify all reasonably practicable options and then assess the advantages and disadvantages of each option.

10.5 Section 78 requires that in the course of making a decision a council must consider community views, but section 78(3) explicitly says that consideration of community views does not require consultation, which is reinforced by case law.

10.6 Section 79 gives councils discretion to decide how the above Part 6 requirements are met including the extent of analysis done etc. Therefore, while a decision could be challenged, a judicial review is unlikely to be successful unless the decision made by a council was manifestly unreasonable, the process was flawed or the decision was beyond its powers (as given in law, i.e. the council did not act within the law).

10.7 However, despite section 79 of the LGA, a decision to transfer the ownership or control of a strategic asset from the council (or to it) must be explicitly provided for in the council’s LTP (and have been consulted on specifically in its consultation document).

10.8 The Council’s existing LTP and the consultation information and process used to develop it will not suffice to meet this test, as the Council did not itself have adequate information on the options and the implications earlier this year when it consulted on the LTP. An LTP amendment and commensurate consultation process on the ownership and governance arrangements and asset transfers proposed, would be necessary.

10.9 There are also provisions in the LGA that relate to unlawful decisions to sell or dispose of assets.

10.10 The reform will be implemented by legislation. The Government has indicated that this process will involve some form of public consultation.

	Issue	Level of Significance	Explanation of Assessment
1.	Is there a high level of public interest, or is decision likely to be controversial?	Low	The Council is still to undertake formal consultation before submitting on the Water Services Entities Bill, however reaffirming the Council’s 29 September 2021 decision at this stage is not likely to trigger a response within the community.
2.	Are there impacts on the social, economic, environmental or cultural aspects of well-being of the community in the present or future?	Low	The Council is only considering whether it reaffirms its 29 September 2021 decision or not. Formal consultation is intended once the Water Services Entities Bill is released for consultation.
3.	Is there a significant impact arising from duration of the effects from the decision?	Low	This is only reaffirming a previous decision which could be modified after the Council receives feedback from public consultation.
4.	Does this activity contribute or detract from one of the goals in the Tasman Climate Action Plan 2019?	No
5.	Does the decision relate to a strategic asset? (refer Significance and Engagement Policy for list of strategic assets)	Yes	Although it relates to strategic assets, the decisions being sought in this report do not, of themselves, affect the ownership of delivery of services related to that strategic asset.
6.	Does the decision create a substantial change in the level of service provided by Council?	No
7.	Does the proposal, activity or decision substantially affect debt, rates or Council finances in any one year or more of the LTP?	No
8.	Does the decision involve the sale of a substantial proportion or controlling interest in a CCO or CCTO?	No
9.	Does the proposal or decision involve entry into a private sector partnership or contract to carry out the deliver on any Council group of activities?	No
10.	Does the proposal or decision involve Council exiting from or entering into a group of activities?	No
11.	Does the proposal require inclusion of Māori in the decision making process (consistent with s81 of the LGA)?	No

11 Conclusion

11.1 There has been significant progress in most aspects of the three waters reform process. The key decision that has been made since the Council last deliberated on the Government’s proposals; the Government has now signalled its intention to mandate the Council’s involvement in the three waters reform as part of the Water Services Entities Bill process.

11.2 The Council does not have any options really, other than to review the implications of the proposals as they are developed and undertake public consultation prior to submitting on the Water Services Entities Bill when it is released for public consultation.

11.3 In the meantime, the Council will continue to work with the National Transition Unit through the transition period.

12 Next Steps / Timeline

12.1 The Council should wait until the Water Services Entities Bill is released for public consultation and then undertake its own public consultation in order to finalise a submission to the Bill.

Attachments

1.⇩

Governance, Representation and Accountability Working Group Report

9.4 Riwaka, Brooklyn and Motueka Air Quality Monitoring 2021

Information Only - No Decision Required

Report To:	Operations Committee
Meeting Date:	31 March 2022
Report Author:	Diana Worthy, Senior Policy Planner; Anna MacKenzie, Resource Scientist - Contaminants
Report Number:	ROC22-03-4

1 Summary

1.1 As part of the Council’s ongoing work programme to monitor air quality in the wider Motueka, Riwaka and Brooklyn area over winter months, Council staff commissioned Mote Limited (Mote) to undertake a winter 2021 monitoring programme of PM_2.5 in Riwaka and Brooklyn. This is to further investigate if there is an air quality issue associated with outdoor rural burning which is used as a land management practice to dispose of vegetation waste.

1.2 Mote deployed five ‘dustmote’ sensors at locations in Riwaka and Brooklyn in mid-May 2021. An additional two dustmotes (monitoring PM₁₀ and PM_2.5) were co-located at the Council’s monitoring site in Motueka alongside the Council’s Air Quality NES (National Environmental Standards) approved monitoring instrument. The ‘dustmote’ sensors are easily locatable, low-cost air quality monitoring devices which are suitable for research purposes. They are not currently a recognised method under the Air Quality NES
Schedule 2 as being suitable for assessing compliance with the regulations, however they provide a method to identify if there is an air quality issue which warrants further investigation.

1.3 Mote’s report is appended to this report (Attachment 1). The key findings of the monitoring from winter 2021 are:

· the data captured from the field deployed dustmotes in Riwaka and Brooklyn complied with the proposed 2020 24-hour Air Quality NES for PM_2.5and the 2021 World Health Organisation’s (WHO) 24-hour guideline for PM_2.5. Analysis of results conclude that the primary source of emissions in the Riwaka and Brooklyn area was domestic home heating. However, some caution needs to be exercised with this conclusion as anecdotal evidence suggests that winter 2021 was not a ‘normal’ year for outdoor burning and that particulate concentration in the Riwaka and Brooklyn area may be much higher during typical conditions; and

· Motueka township may have an air quality issue as the PM_2.5dustmote sensor measured PM_2.5 concentrations in excess of the 2021 WHO 24-hour guideline and the proposed 2020 24-hour Air Quality NES.

1.4 Staff have considered the findings of the Mote report and will continue to undertake surveillance monitoring in the Riwaka and Motueka areas. Budgets are in place to enable the following 2022 monitoring work programme across the District:

· temporary winter monitoring of daily PM_2.5in Riwaka township using a dustmote sensor;

· one full year of monitoring in Motueka of daily PM_2.5using an Air Quality NES approved instrument (a partisol monitor) at the Council’s monitoring site at Goodman Ledger Park;

· temporary winter monitoring of daily PM_2.5in both Brightwater and Wakefield, using a network of three dustmote sensors per township; and

· purchase of a new monitoring instrument as part of the equipment renewal programme.

1.5 In addition to the above monitoring, the Council continues to monitor PM₁₀ and PM_2.5at our permanent monitoring station in the Richmond Airshed. The Air Quality NES only requires the identification and monitoring of airsheds where air quality standards are likely to be breached.

1.6 Our monitoring to date of PM₁₀ in Motueka indicates there is unlikely to be an issue in relation to exceeding the current Air Quality NES daily standard. However, when the regulations are changed to monitor and manage PM_2.5, then it is likely that air quality in Motueka will breach a PM_2.5standard. In these circumstances, the Council would be required to identify and gazette a new ‘Motueka airshed’, undertake permanent monitoring and propose actions to manage the airshed in consultation with the community. Once we have completed the full year of PM_2.5monitoring in early 2023, then staff will be able to provide further advice and recommendations to the Committee.

1.7 Staff will also continue to provide education and best practice advice regarding home heating and outdoor burning as part of the Council’s wider air quality work programme. This monitoring information will also help inform preparatory work for the ‘discharges to air’ rules as part of the development of the Aorere ki uta, Aorere ki tai - Tasman Environment Plan.

2 Draft Resolution

That the Operations Committee receives the Riwaka, Brooklyn and Motueka Air Quality Monitoring 2021 report, ROC22-03-4.

3 Introduction and Background

3.1 In 2021, the Council commissioned Mote Limited (Mote) to undertake a monitoring programme targeting Riwaka and Brooklyn to further investigate if there is an air quality issue in this area associated with outdoor rural burning. This report sets out the results of this 2021 monitoring and details next steps for the 2022 winter air quality monitoring programme.

3.2 This winter 2021 monitoring was follow-up work in relation to monitoring that was completed in 2019. At that time, the Council commissioned NIWA to monitor air quality (PM₁₀ and PM_2.5) in Motueka, Riwaka and Brooklyn during winter 2019 to better understand if there are air quality issues associated with home heating and/or outdoor rural burning. One of the key results from the 2019 monitoring indicated that there was evidence of rural burning in the surrounding countryside, particularly around Riwaka, making a short-term and localised but significant contribution to poor air quality which may require further investigation (see Report ROC20-02-5).

4 Monitoring Methodology

4.1 Mote deployed four ‘dustmote’ sensors (optical nephelometers) at locations in Riwaka and Brooklyn in mid-May 2021, monitoring PM_2.5. An additional two dustmotes (monitoring PM₁₀ and PM_2.5) were co-located at Council’s monitoring site in Motueka alongside the Council’s Air Quality NES approved monitoring instrument (monitoring PM₁₀). Information on wind speed and direction was also collected at most locations. Figure 1 illustrates the location of monitoring equipment.

4.2 Although the current Air Quality NES focuses on regulating coarse particulate matter (PM₁₀), the focus of this study was smaller particles (PM_2.5). More recent international investigations suggest that greater focus should be placed on the management of PM_2.5due to health impacts, as reflected by the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) air quality guidelines 2021 update. It is also anticipated that a future amendment to the Air Quality NES will focus on regulation of PM_2.5(refer to the 2021 Annual Air Quality Report (RRC21-12-5)).

Figure 1: Location map of dustmotes in the Riwaka, Brooklyn and Motueka areas.

4.2 The guidelines used for assessment of the data have been the Air Quality NES for PM₁₀ (Motueka site only) and two options for PM_2.5, as outlined below:

Parameter	Standard or Guideline	Concentration μg/m³
PM₁₀	Air Quality NES 24-hour	50
PM_2.5	Ministry for the Environment’s proposed Air Quality NES (2020)*	25
PM_2.5	WHO Guideline 24-hour (2021)	15

*Ministry for the Environment. 2020. Proposed amendments to the National Environmental Standards for Air Quality: particulate matter and mercury emissions – consultation document. Wellington: Ministry for the Environment.

4.3 Dustmotes produce one second data that are averaged using a programmable modem to produce one minute average data. For reporting purposes, the information in this report has been averaged into 24-hour averages. The data capture rate for field deployed instruments in Riwaka and Brooklyn was 95%.

4.4 The results span the period of 13 May to 13 September 2021. Although the Council initially commissioned the study for a three-month period, delay in retrieval of the sensors by Mote (due to Covid-19 lockdown restrictions on travel) resulted in an extra month’s data being collected.

4.5 The dustmote sensors are easily locatable, low-cost air quality monitoring devices which are suitable for research purposes. They are not currently a recognised method under the Air Quality NES Schedule 2 as being suitable for assessing compliance with the regulations, however they provide a method to identify if there is an air quality issue which warrants further investigation. The monitoring results should not be used to directly assess compliance with national guidelines and standards to protect human health.

5 Analysis of Results

5.1 The results indicate that data captured from the field deployed dustmotes in Riwaka and Brooklyn complied with the proposed 24-hour Air Quality NES for PM_2.5and the 2021 WHO 2021 24-hour guideline for PM_2.5.

5.2 The highest 24-hour average PM_2.5concentration of any dustmote in the Riwaka/Brooklyn area during the study period was 14.8 µg/m³ measured at Riwaka East on 3 June which was well below the proposed Air Quality NES for PM_2.5of 25µg/m³, but just below the WHO guideline of 15 µg/m³ (Figure 2). All other sites recorded daily averages below 10 µg/m³.

Figure 2: Monitoring results from the Riwaka East location.

5.3 The Motueka PM₁₀ dustmote results indicate compliance with the Air Quality NES daily standard for PM₁₀ (50 µg/m³). This is consistent with the Council’s PM₁₀ results using an Air Quality NES approved instrument, which recorded a maximum daily average of PM₁₀ of 32 µg/m³.

5.4 There were 18 known instances when the Motueka PM_2.5 dustmote recorded a PM_2.5 daily average of 15 µg/m³ or above, which exceeds the WHO 24-hour guideline for PM_2.5. The highest 24-hour average PM_2.5recorded by the dustmote was 27 µg/m³ which is just above the proposed 24-hour Air Quality NES for PM_2.5of 25 µg/m³ (Figure 3). The Motueka site experienced data loss for approximately two weeks in late July, and therefore the total number of PM_2.5exceedances is likely to have been higher.

* Note: Periods where less than 75% of the valid data was present have been left blank. The noticeable gap in July/early August is data loss due to a heavy rainfall event which interrupted the power supply.

Figure 3: PM_2.5monitoring results from Motueka.

5.5 Wind speeds during the study remained relatively low and were typically south-westerly, although nearby topographical features appeared to have a significant effect on both wind direction and wind speed. Most sites displayed clear evidence of cold flow drainage under light winds (‘katabatic winds’) which appeared to be the dominant dispersive mechanism at night.

6 Report Conclusions

6.1 Based on the analysis from all the results (PM concentrations, meteorological conditions, the relationship between sites (known as ‘coefficient of variation’)), Mote concluded that the primary source of emissions in the Riwaka and Brooklyn area was domestic home heating. However, some caution needs to be exercised with this conclusion. Anecdotal evidence suggests that autumn/winter 2021 was not a ‘normal’ year for outdoor burning and as reported in the 2021 Annual Air Quality Report (RRC21-12-5):

“Compliance staff were advised in April 2021 that orchardists were struggling to source replacement apple tree stock. The flow on effect of this situation was that less orchard trees were removed for replacement and therefore less outdoor burns were undertaken. Anecdotal evidence from Council staff was that it ‘felt’ like there were less rural fires during winter particularly on the Waimea Plains and Riwaka.”

6.2 There was also a 60% reduction in smoke complaints for the area in comparison to the previous year. This suggests that winter 2021 was not typical conditions and that particulate concentration in the Riwaka and Brooklyn area may be much higher during a ‘normal’ year.

6.3 In relation to Motueka, the results indicate that the township may have an air quality issue as the sensor measured PM2.5 concentrations in excess of the 2021 WHO 24-hour guideline and the proposed 24-hour Air Quality NES. This conclusion is consistent with the 2019 NIWA study.

7 Next Steps

7.1 The Mote report recommended to undertake further monitoring in Riwaka during the 2022 winter period given the concern raised regarding if winter 2021 had been a ‘normal’ year. Staff agree that it is prudent to continue surveillance monitoring in the area to build baseline monitoring data. Mote have kindly offered to supply the Council with a dustmote for the duration of the 2022 winter at no cost to the Council.

7.2 Through the Long Term Plan 2021-2031, our capacity to undertake monitoring in Motueka and surveillance monitoring in other townships was increased. Budgets are in place to enable the following 2022 monitoring work programme:

· temporary winter monitoring of daily PM_2.5in Riwaka township using a dustmote sensor;

· one full year of monitoring in Motueka of daily PM_2.5using an Air Quality NES approved instrument (a partisol monitor), located at the Council’s monitoring site at Goodman Ledger Park;

· temporary winter monitoring of daily PM_2.5in both Brightwater and Wakefield, using a network of three dustmote sensors per township (plus one meteorological station per township); and

· purchase of a new air quality monitoring instrument as part of the equipment renewal programme.

7.3 In addition to the above, the Council continues to monitor PM₁₀ and PM_2.5at our permanent monitoring station in the Richmond Airshed. The Air Quality NES only requires the identification and monitoring of airsheds where air quality standards are likely to be breached.

7.4 Our monitoring to date of PM₁₀ in Motueka indicates there is unlikely to be an issue in relation to exceeding the current Air Quality NES daily standard. However, when the regulations are changed to monitor and manage PM_2.5, then it is likely that air quality in Motueka will breach a PM_2.5standard. In these circumstances, the Council would be required to identify and gazette a new ‘Motueka airshed’, undertake permanent monitoring and propose actions to manage the airshed in consultation with the community. Once we have completed the full year of PM_2.5monitoring in early 2023, then staff will be able to provide further advice and recommendations to the Council.

7.5 Staff will also continue to provide education and best practice advice regarding home heating and outdoor burning as part of the Council’s wider air quality work programme. This monitoring information will also help inform preparatory work for the ‘discharges to air’ rules as part of the development of the Aorere ki uta, Aorere ki tai - Tasman Environment Plan.

Attachments

1.⇩

Riwaka, Brooklyn and Motueka PM2.5 Monitoring Network 2021

9.6 Treasury Report

Information Only - No Decision Required

Report To:	Operations Committee
Meeting Date:	31 March 2022
Report Author:	James Bagnall, Financial Analyst
Report Number:	ROC22-03-6

1 Summary

1.1 This report provides councillors with an update on the Councils Treasury operations, reporting on compliance with the treasury policy, along with a market update.

1.2 At September 2021, the Council's total outstanding debt was $212.5 million. Key activity since the last report to the committee comprises:

· October 2021:

o a $9.0 million short-term loan was drawn from ASB facility while arranging for longer term LGFA borrowing.

o $7.8 million of the Crown Irrigation Investments Limited (CIIL) loan facility was drawn for the Waimea Community Dam (WCD) investment.

o $9.0 million of LGFA borrowing was also drawn for the WCD investment.

· November 2021:

o repaid the October $9.0 million short-term loan from the ASB facility.

o reduced the $15.0 million in short-term commercial paper borrowings held by LGFA to $12.0 million.

· December 2021: repaid $9.0 million of short-term commercial paper borrowings from the LGFA with a maturing term deposit.

· January 2022: $10.2 million of the Crown Irrigation Investments Limited (CIIL) loan facility was drawn for the Waimea Community Dam (WCD) investment.

· February 2022: $12.0 million of short-term commercial paper held by LGFA was rolled over for a further term.

At February 2022, Council's total debt stood at $227.5 million.

1.3 The Council is compliant with all limits in the current Treasury Risk Management Policy: §4.2 Borrowing Capacity; §6.1.2 Interest Rate Risk; §6.2.2 Liquidity Funding/Risk Position; and §6.3 Counterparty Risk.

1.4 The interest rate differential between the amount the Council has prefunded from the LGFA and the amount re-invested in deposits is a current side benefit and not the driver of the pre-funding strategy. Currently, term deposit rates out to five years are all lower than LGFA marginal borrowing costs (usually they are only loss-making beyond three years). This is a change from the October 2021 report as deposit rates have risen slower than the increasing borrowing interest rates.

1.5 The Council’s cost of borrowing (loan interest, swaps interest differential, facility fees) is 3.291% on Total Debt, compared to a budget of 3.50% (2020-21 budget was 4.40%). Due to our conservative approach in uncertain times, the Treasury cost centre has a retained surplus. This is due to lower than forecasted debt levels and lower than budgeted finance costs over the recent years. This retained surplus will likely cover the current increased borrowing costs for the 2021-2022 year.

1.6 Since October 2021, ASB has included the Council in the all-of-government arrangements under which ASB pays interest on call account balances at the previous day's OCR. This rate is better than the ASB on-call Money-market account rate for their other customers. This Money-market account is used in the short term for surplus cash due to the timing of receipts and payments.

1.7 Inflationary pressures have caused the Reserve Bank to make sustained, but modest, increases to the OCR (Overnight Cash rate), which is now at 1.00%pa. Further increases are predicted by the ANZ and other commentators amid debate about whether increased interest rates would help with addressing the current inflationary pressures arising from monetary and fiscal policy settings, along with the global situation.

1.8 In April 2020, the Reserve Bank added $3 billion of LGFA debt to its large-scale asset purchase programme. The Government has announced an amendment to the LGFA Crown Liquidity Facility that extends the term of that facility to 31 December 2031 (from 31 December 2021) and increased the size of the facility to NZD1.5 billion (from NZD1 billion). The LGFA welcomed support from central government as the facility plays an important role in enabling LGFA to maintain its high credit rating and deliver lower cost financing to the local government sector.

1.9 The Council has pre-funded the next 12 months of scheduled LGFA loan repayments being $15 million due in April 2022. Pre-funding improves the Council’s liquidity position and is seen as positive from a credit rating perspective. Staff continue to monitor cash flows closely. This monitoring will inform the timing of any drawdown of additional borrowing. It is anticipated pre-funding of the April 2023 LGFA loan repayments will occur soon to take advantage of 12+ month term deposit rates.

1.10 The Council's Investment funding to Waimea Water Limited has now fully utilised the additional $18 million interest-free Council facility from CIIL. This facility was provided to assist with the funding of cost over-runs on the Waimea Community Dam (WCD). It is used to fund shareholder advances to Waimea Water Ltd. Council CIIL facilities total $28 million, including the $10 million Environmental loan. These facilities are now all fully drawn.

2 Draft Resolution

That the Operations Committee receives the Treasury Report, ROC22-03-6.

3 Treasury February 2022

Borrowing

3.1 The Council is compliant with its 2019 Treasury Risk Management Policy, §4.2.

§4.2: Borrowing	Feb 2022	Within Limits	Possible Limit
Net external debt ≤20% of equity*	10.0%	ü	$353m	Net Debt
Net external debt ≤225% of total operating revenue*	114.7%	ü	$346m	Net Debt
Net interest* ≤15% of total revenue*	3.4%	ü	$33m	Net Interest
Net interest* ≤25% of total rates*	9.5%	ü	$19m	Net Interest
Liquidity ≥110% of total external debt	132.1%	ü	$273m	Total Debt
* Latest audited results: Annual Report 2021, published 16-Dec-21

3.2 The actual result closest to the limit sets the indicative maximum borrowing amount. The liquidity limit would be the first one reached if total debt rose to $273 million (and only if the Council used up existing facilities without arranging new loans/facilities).

3.3 The interest to revenue and interest to rates limits are sensitive to movements in borrowing costs. The current high limit on potential borrowings is due to the historically low interest rates.

3.4 With a projected increase in debt, combined with a reduction in rates and other income in 2020-21, the debt to revenue ratio will deteriorate over the coming year. This ratio is key in assessing our credit rating.

3.5 On 30 June 2020, LGFA shareholders agreed to change the LGFA debt covenants. The new covenants allow for a debt to revenue ratio of 300% in 2020-21 and 2021-22 for A- or better-rated councils, with a reduction back to 280% over the coming years. The Council’s Treasury Policy debt to revenue ratio limit is currently 225%; any increase in this limit would require an amendment to the current Treasury policy.

Debt Levels

$227.5m	Total Debt	All borrowing
$194.5m	Gross Debt	Total Debt, minus pre-funded and pass-through loans
$176.6m	Net Debt	Gross Debt, minus all other deposits

Cost of Borrowing and Cost of Funds

1.820%	Cost of Loans	Interest, as % of Total Debt
1.418%	Cost of Swaps	Interest differential (w.a. 3.395%), as % of Total Debt
0.054%	Cost of Facilities	Line fees (w.a. 0.305%), as % of Total Debt
3.291%	Cost of Borrowing	Total interest and fees, as % of Total Debt
4.240%	Cost of Funds	Net interest, as % of Net Debt

Interest Rate Risk Position

3.6 This shows a snapshot of the current fixed rate debt – fixed-rate loans and floating-to-fixed swaps – that matures over time, against a corridor of the policy maximum and minimum levels (as a % of forecast Gross Debt). "Fixed-rate" is defined as having an interest rate resetting maturity/expiry date greater than 12 months away.

§6.1.2: Interest Rate Risk	Minimum	Maximum	Fixed*	Within Limits
Current	50%	95%	87%	ü
Until February 2023	50%	90%	74%	ü
Until February 2024	45%	85%	61%	ü
* Fixed-rate loans and swaps still available at future date ÷ forecast debt at future date

Interest Rate Swaps

3.7 The Group Manager Finance has delegated authority to enter into interest rate swaps on behalf of the Council on the proviso that such transactions are reported back to the Council. The Council’s approval is required before entering into long-dated swaps with a maturity over 12 years.

3.8 The Council's swap coverage will not currently exceed potential floating-rate debt (FRNs, short-term commercial paper, facilities) for several years.

3.9 No swap transactions were entered into since June 2018.

Liquidity

3.10 The liquidity ratio calculation represents the total committed bank facilities and term debt amounts, together with liquid investments, over the total debt amount. The liquidity ratio is 132.1% (target: >110%) and represents the debt headroom available within the Council’s facilities, along with cash available over and above its existing external debt.

Funding Maturity Risk Position

3.11 This chart groups loan maturities in 12-month blocks. Also shown are available facilities, deposits linked to pre-funding loans, and pass-through loans. The shaded background shows the maximum and minimum liquidity maturity bands (including facilities) in the 2019 Treasury Risk Management Policy:

*§6.2.2: Liquidity/Funding Risk**	Minimum	Maximum	Feb 2022	Within Limits
0 – 3 Years	15%	60%	38%	ü
3 – 5 Years	15%	60%	26%	ü
5+ Years	10%	60%	36%	ü
* Including facilities, and net of linked deposits

3.12 Ensuring a spread of maturities reduces the risk of having to find large amounts of capital, or refinance loans, at a time in the future which may be unfavourable.

Counterparty Credit Risk

3.13 The 2019 Treasury Risk Management Policy, §6.3 requires that New Zealand registered banks (as counterparties) must have a minimum S&P (or equivalent) short-term rating of A-1+ or long-term rating of AA-. All of the Council’s counterparty banks are S&P AA- rated.

§6.3: Counterparty Risk – $30m	Deposits*	Swaps**	Feb 2022	Within Limits
ANZ	-	$2.7m	$2.7m	ü
ASB	$17.8m	$2.2m	$20.0m	ü
BNZ	$0.1m	-	$0.1m	ü
Westpac	$15.0m	$10.7m	$25.7m	ü
* 100% of principal ** 3% of notional value × remaining years

Current Borrowings

Counterparty	Fixed*	Floating	Feb 2022
LGFA	$61.0m	$114.5m	$175.5m
LGFA (short-term Commercial Paper)	-	$24.0m	$24.0m
Crown Irrigation Investments Ltd (interest-free loans)	$28.0m	-	$28.0m
ASB Facility/Overdraft	-	-	-
Westpac Facility	-	-	-
Total	$89.0m	$138.5m	$227.5m
* Having an interest rate resetting maturity/expiry date greater than 12 months.

Impact of Three Water Reform

3.14 The Council is now considering the impact of the proposed three-waters reform on the Council balance sheet and Treasury Risk Management Policy settings. We are awaiting a firm indication from Central Government of their decision following the current round of feedback. Once that is known, we will look to position the Council in the best possible way to manage the financial outcomes from any changes. The previous indications were that while debt will be repaid by the proposed three waters entities, the close-out of the related derivatives (interest rate swaps) would be a cost to the Council. These costs are expected to be met from the Government's transitional funding.

4 Investments

4.1 The Council’s cash investments total $32.9 million with an average interest rate of 1.27%. In line with the Treasury Policy, specific reserves are not kept as cash. The Council continues to maintain adequate cash reserves and committed bank facilities to support any drawdown against specified reserves.

4.2 The individual investment balances are as follows:

Counterparty		Feb 2022	Interest
ASB	Call Account	$17,831,575	1.00%
BNZ	Call Account	$106,586	-
Westpac	Call Account	$731	0.05%
ASB	On-call Money-market	$2,902	0.60%
Westpac	Term Deposit (238 Days)	$15,000,000	1.6%
Total		$32,941,794	1.27%

4.3 Since October 2021, ASB has included the Council in the all-of-government deal which pays interest on call account balances at the previous day's OCR. This is currently better than the ASB on-call Money-market account rate that other customers receive. This account is usually used for daily surplus cash.

5 Emissions Trading Scheme

5.1 The objective of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) carbon credit policy is to minimise the impact of the movements in the carbon credit prices on Council.

5.2 ETS risk is managed under the limits in the 2019 Treasury Risk Management Policy, §6.4.

§6.4: Forward Cover Risk	Minimum	Maximum	Oct 2021	Within Limits
Committed*	80%	100%	100%	ü
Forecast Period
0 – 1 Years	0%	80%	80%	ü
1 – 2 Years	0%	50%	50%	ü
2 – 3 Years	0%	30%	0%	ü
* Exposure becomes committed in Jan-Mar (quarter following emission period as the Council must report emissions from the previous year)

5.3 Consultation has started on proposed amendments to the ETS. There are two sets of proposed amendments to strengthen the ETS framework and to reduce the complexity around the forestry scheme. The Council has no direct exposure to landfills ETS liabilities as these are managed through the Nelson Tasman Regional Landfill Business Unit.

6 Market Comment

6.1 The Overnight Cash Rate (OCR) has been raised three times since September 2021 and is now at 1.00%, with further rises to 2.00% predicted by the ANZ. The Reserve Bank also reported that a package of additional monetary instruments must remain in active preparation. The deployment of such tools will depend on the outlook for inflation and employment.

6.2 High inflation has driven increases in borrowing interest rates in expectation of further OCR rises.

6.3 New Zealand’s terms of trade (the ratio between New Zealand export and import prices) have decreased slightly in the last half of 2021, as expected now that NZ is back to having a negative balance-of-trade and NZ is a net importer in Winter/Spring.

6.4 According to Statistics New Zealand, 2021 Q4 gross domestic product was 9.21% above 2019 Q4 – i.e. 4.50% year-on-year – indicating no sustained economic downturn to date from the impact of COVID-19.

6.5 The Council staff continue to work closely with our PwC advisors regarding the best debt financing strategy going forward, given the ongoing uncertainty in local and global markets.

7 Treasury Cost Centre

7.1 The Treasury cost centre operates as the Council’s internal bank. It manages the external costs of borrowing and allocates them across internal loans within individual activities. It also pays/charges interest on reserves and activity balances. In accordance with the Treasury Risk Management Policy, these interest rates are set quarterly. For the quarter starting July 2021, interest is charged on loans and overdrawn closed account balances at 3.50% and paid at 0.36% on credit balances for the next quarter.

8 LGFA ESG Borrowing

8.1 The LGFA is looking to borrowing Councils to support its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting and ending initiatives. Investors are increasingly applying these non-financial factors as part of their analysis process to identify material risks and growth opportunities. Councils who can align their new borrowing to these factors get a slightly reduced interest rate from the LGFA. The Council staff will be reviewing how we can assist with reporting tracking ESG factors and borrowing over the next 18 months.

Attachments

Nil

9.8 February 2022 Financial Update

Information Only - No Decision Required

Report To:	Operations Committee
Meeting Date:	31 March 2022
Report Author:	Josh Douglas, Senior Management Accountant
Report Number:	ROC22-03-8

1 Summary

1.1 This report provides an update on the Council’s annual financial performance as at the end of February 2022. The Budget presented in this financial update includes the carryovers from 2020/21 as approved by the Council.

1.2 In year one of the Long-Term Plan 2021-2031, the Council budgeted for a February year to date (YTD) controllable deficit of $10.3 million; the actual February YTD result was a deficit of $2.9 million, which is a favourable variance of $7.3 million.

1.3 Controllable operating income contributed $10.1 million to the favourable variance driven mainly by additional forestry income of $5.3 million, additional building and resource consent revenue of $1.1 million (as a result of building demand), additional operating subsidies of $3 million (including NZ Transport Agency revenue of $1.9 million relating to the July flooding event), and $1 million of funding in advance for Jobs for Nature work. This was offset by an unfavourable variance in operating expenditure of $2.8 million predominantly driven by expenses relating to the July flooding event and additional forestry harvesting costs.

1.4 Our latest year end reforecast is predicting a full year controllable deficit of $6.9 million against a budgeted deficit of $13.9 million, which is a favourable variance of $6.9 million.

1.5 The key drivers of the estimated full year variance are similar to the YTD variance, being favourable variances in net forestry income, depreciation, digital transformation, consultancy, and finance expenses. It should be noted that both the digital transformation and consultancy underspends will most likely be requested to be carried forward to complete the work programme in 2022/2023.

1.6 The Capital Budget for 2021/22 is $69.4 million, including carryovers, but not including the capital spend associated with our Joint Venture Partners (a further $31.1 million). At the end of February capital expenditure was $36.1 million against a budget of $44.3 million. We are forecasting to be $3.1 million ahead of budget, excluding investments in joint ventures at year end. The delivery of the Capital Programme remains a key management focus.

1.7 External net debt is $177 million, compared to a full-year budget of $217 million. The Council’s net debt has increased from $169.0 million at 30 June 2021. The increase is due mainly to the funding of the capital expenditure programme, including our investment in the Waimea Community Dam during the first eight months of the year.

2 Draft Resolution

That the Operations Committee receives the February 2022 Financial Update report, ROC22-03-8.

3 Purpose of the report

3.1 The purpose of this report is to update the Council on the February 2022 YTD and full year forecast of Councils financial performance.

4 Background and Discussion – Quarterly Financial Report (February 2022 YTD)

4.1 This is the second financial performance update report for the 2021/2022 financial year.

4.2 The Council is forecasting a year end favourable controllable operating surplus variance of $6.9 million. Details of key movements from YTD actuals to full year forecast are set out in section five.

4.3 The controllable operating income for February YTD is $93.5 million. This is a YTD favourable variance of $10.1m against a February YTD budget of $83.4 million. The key drivers are set out in section six.

4.4 The controllable operating expenditure for February YTD is $96.5 million. This is an unfavourable variance of $2.8 million on the February YTD budget of $93.7 million. The key drivers are set out in section seven.

4.5 Capital expenditure totals $36.1 million as at 28 February 2022 against a full-year budget, including carryovers of $69.4 million excluding our Joint Operations areas. The Council is forecasting to be $3.1 million ahead of budget at year end. Expenditure by activity is set out in section ten.

4.6 Total net debt as of 28 February was $177 million compared to the 2021/22 full-year budgeted net debt of $217 million.

4.7 The below table shows the key drivers of February YTD and forecast full year controllable operating variance to budget.

4.8 The table below provides a reconciliation of the accounting position compared to the controllable operational position. This table strips out non-cash items and items that can only be used to fund capital expenditure, e.g., development and financial contributions, swap revaluations, vested assets, and capital subsidies.

4.9 The budgeted deficit reflects the inclusion of the full cost of depreciation in controllable operating expenses. We will not have transitioned to fully funding depreciation until June 2025, hence the budget deficit position.

4.10 Development and Financial Contributions were $3.6 million favourable to budget YTD. The key drivers of the variance are the release from revenue in advance of $0.8 million of contributions that were collected in 2020/21, but related to future year’s expenditure, and two large individual contributions being one in August of $1.5 million and one in December of $1.7 million.

4.11 The unfavourable variance in capital subsidies is driven by several factors including Rivers, Three Waters funding and Waka Kotahi (NZ Transport Agency) funding. All are timing in nature.

4.12 Commentary is provided on the revenue and expenditure in sections six and seven.

5 Full Year Forecast Analysis

5.1 Our current reforecast is predicting a full year controllable deficit of $6.9 million against a budgeted deficit of $13.9 million, which is a favourable variance of $6.9 million. The key drivers of the full year variance are similar to the YTD variance, being favourable variances in net forestry income, depreciation and digital transformation, consultancy, and finance expense. Below are the key movements from the Feb YTD variance to the full year forecast variance to budget.

5.2 The Operating Subsidies and Grants variance to budget moves down from a $3 million favourable variance to a $2.5 million favourable variance. This movement is driven largely by the Jobs for Nature funding coming into line with budget by year end. The key driver of the year end variance is Waka Kotahi (NZ Transport Agency) funding of our response to the July flood event.

5.3 Other Revenue remains at $5.6 million favourable variance for the full year forecast. This is driven by forestry harvesting revenue which is well ahead of budget YTD however we do not expect to see the same level of variance to budget over the next four months with a slowing down of the harvesting schedule.

5.4 Fees and Charges remain at a $1.4 million favourable variance for the full year forecast. We have seen strong growth in Building and Resource Consents revenues in the first half of the year however we are now seeing this slow down and council are forecasting for revenue to be more in line with budget over the coming four months.

5.5 Finance expenses moves from a $0.4 million favourable variance to a $0.6 million favourable variance. This is largely driven by a lower opening net debt position partly offset by increasing interest rates.

5.6 Employee related expense reduces from a $0.2 million unfavourable variance to a $0 variance. Given the current labour market conditions and the larger than normal number of vacancies, we are forecasting the spend to come back in line with budget by year end.

5.7 Other expenses increase from a $0.4 million unfavourable variance to a $1.3 million unfavourable variance. This movement is largely driven by an increase in consultancy and operational spend over the coming four months. The year end unfavourable variance is made up of $2.2 million of forestry harvesting costs and $1.1 million of building consent and building consultancy. These are offset by favourable variances in digital transformation, consultancy and operations, these favourable variances are likely to be requested to be carried forward into the 2022/2023 financial year.

5.8 Maintenance reduces from a $3.9 million unfavourable variance to a $3.3 million unfavourable variance. The downward movement in the variance is driven by other maintenance costs outside of the July flooding event coming back in line with budget by year end.

5.9 Development and Financial Contributions moves from $3.6 million favourable variance YTD to a $0.3 million favourable variance at year end. The fact that the timing of Development and Financial Contributions are inherently difficult to predict, and the accounting process of revenue recognition at year end is driving the downward movement.

5.10 The capital subsidies forecast $2.7 million favourable variance at year end is driven by the timing of the receipt of this year’s instalment of the Fresh Water Improvement Fund funding for the Waimea Community Dam.

6 Income Analysis

6.1 We have received additional controllable income of $10.1 million over and above the February YTD budget.

6.2 The key driver of the favourable variance to budget in Environmental Assurance relates to funds of $0.9 million received from the Ministry for the Environment for Jobs for Nature, this is a timing issue and will come back into line with budget by year end. Additional revenue for Building Control of $0.6 million and resource consents $0.4 million are driven by continued growth in the district but are offset by additional consultancy costs as noted below.

6.3 The favourable revenue variance in Community Infrastructure relates to the Waka Kotahi (NZ Transport Agency) subsidy, which was $2.0 million favourable to budget YTD, driven by the subsidy for the extreme weather event in July which we are accruing for. There was also a $0.3 million favourable variance driven by unbudgeted royalties from gravel extraction in the Rivers activity.

6.4 The favourable revenue variance in Council Enterprises is mainly due to forestry harvesting of $5.3 million. This is driven by a combination of timing of harvests and favourable log prices.

6.5 The favourable variance in Departmental Overheads is driven by interest earned on investments and a special one-off Port Nelson Limited dividend of $0.28 million.

7 Operating Expenditure Analysis

7.1 There was an unfavourable February YTD variance of $2.8 million in controllable operating expenditure. There are several items that drive this variance.

7.2 Environmental Assurance has a $0.8 million unfavourable variance driven by Building and Resource Consents consultancy costs as these teams look to manage resourcing constraints. The additional costs are partially offset by the related fees and recoveries as noted above.

7.3 Community infrastructure has a $2.3 million unfavourable YTD variance to budget. Maintenance costs were $3.9 million unfavourable to budget YTD, driven by $3.1 million of unbudgeted expenses incurred responding to the extreme weather event in July, an additional $0.3 million of reactive maintenance and an additional $0.3 million of sealed pavement maintenance. Activity Managers are forecasting these come back into line with budget by year end except for the extreme weather event expense. Professional fees were $0.5 million favourable to budget, as a number of planned consulting work projects have not yet started or are still in the planning phase. General operations were $0.8 million favourable to budget, driven by various modelling and management planning work not yet commencing, if not completed by year end these will likely be requested to be carried over into 2022/2023.

7.4 Enterprises Portfolio had a $2.2 million unfavourable YTD variance to budget mainly due to higher than budgeted harvesting costs associated with the forestry area. This is offset by the related increased forestry revenue.

7.5 Departmental overheads had a $0.5 million favourable YTD variance. The key driver of this variance was Digital Transformation costs as the programme has been delayed due to difficulties in recruiting staff. Staff will be requesting to carry over this favourable variance into 2022/2023 at year end.

8 Statement of Financial Position

8.1 Overall, the financial position of the Council remains strong and ahead of year end budget expectations.

8.2 Cash and cash equivalents are higher than the full year budget, this reflects the phasing of quarterly cash flows which is driven by the month in which the quarterly rates instalments fall due. The latest quarterly rates instalment was collected in February 2022.

8.3 In other financial assets, there is a mismatch between current and long term other financial assets. This part of the balance sheet is where we pre-fund any debt maturing in the next six months or any longer-term requirements. Having a mismatch between short- and long-term assets such as this, reflects market conditions in terms of what length of debt maturity we enter into.

8.4 Trade and other receivables are in alignment with historic trends and where the rating month falls.

8.5 The variance to year end budget in Investments in Associates is due to the 2020/2021 year end revaluation of Port Nelson Limited and Nelson Airport Limited which were higher than expected.

9 Total Net Debt

9.1 The total net debt is $177 million as of 28 February 2022, compared to a full-year budget of $217.0 million. The Council net debt has increased from $169 million as of 30 June 2021. The increase in net debt is due to loan funding of capital expenditure including the Waimea Community Dam investment during the first eight months of the year.

9.2 Net debt is gross debt less cash on hand and other liquid financial assets.

10 Capital Expenditure Analysis

10.1 Overall, the capital programme is tracking behind budget by $8 million YTD. Our latest reforecast is projecting that we will make this up over the coming months and end the year $3.1 million ahead of budget excluding joint ventures. Given the continuing uncertainties with Covid-19 , supply chain, and global economic conditions, it is a very challenging time to be forecasting future spend.

10.2 Roading is forecast to be $0.6 million behind budget at year end. The key driver of this variance is works related to Tasman’s Great Taste Trail which has been delayed due to key personnel availability. Much of the sealed road maintenance work takes place in late summer/early autumn which should see the Council make up the YTD favourable variance of $2.7 million.

10.3 Water supply is forecast to be $1 million ahead of budget at year end. This is driven by the Salisbury Road Pipeline upgrade. At the Full Council Meeting on 24 February 2022, the Council approved bringing forward budgets from future years in the LTP to cover work on the Salisbury Road Pipeline upgrade, in the current financial year. Finance staff are in the process of updating the 2021/2022 budgets to reflect this approval.

10.4 Rivers is forecast to be $1.8 million ahead of budget at year end. This is largely driven by $2.6 million remedial work relating to the July flooding event. The Council has approved for the Rivers emergency and general emergency fund to be used to cover this additional capital expenditure which will leave the Rivers activity balance at year end no worse off. There is an offsetting underspend of $0.8 million for the Motueka stopbanks work which has been partially delayed, this will be requested to be carried over at year end.

10.5 Council Enterprises is forecast to be $1.1 million ahead of budget at year end. This relates to the unbudgeted purchase of additional land and buildings to extend the Top10 Holiday Park at Motueka, which has been funded through the surplus in the forestry activity.

11 Debtors

11.1 The following graphs compare debt that is older than three months with the total debt for each area of the Council’s operations. These have been separated between balances over $50,000 and balances under $50,000 for scaling purposes to provide a meaningful graph of the smaller balances.

Balances larger than $50,000

Balances less than $50,000

11.2 A total of $4.6 million is owed to the Council, down from $7.7 million last month. There is $0.6m current, $2.7 million is (+1) month of which $2.3 million is Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and (3+) is $1.1 million, this is an increase in the 3+ balance on the previous month of $0.3 million. The 3+ balance now represents 23% of the debt owed to the Council. Penalties are set six times per year. Twice on any arrears balance at 5% (from the previous year), and four times for instalments at 10%.

Attachments

Nil

9.4 Customer Services, Community Partnerships and Communications Update Report

Information Only - No Decision Required

Report To:	Operations Committee
Meeting Date:	31 March 2022
Report Author:	Chris Choat, Communications & Change Manager; Lani Evans, Community Partnerships Co-ordinator; Suzanne Westley, Customer Services Manager
Report Number:	ROC22-03-9

1 Summary

1.1 This report provides the Committee with an update on some of the key highlights of the Services & Strategy Group and the Council Operations Group operational work programmes. This report covers the work undertaken by the Customer Services, Community Partnerships and Communications sections.

2 Draft Resolution

That the Operations Committee receives the Customer Services, Community Partnerships and Communications Update Report, ROC22-03-9

3 Purpose of the Report

3.1 The purpose of this report is to provide the Committee with an overview of work undertaken by the Customer Services, Community Partnerships and Communications sections. We alternate reporting on libraries and customer services, so that each of those sections reports quarterly on their work.

4 Customer Services Update – Suzanne Westley

Call Centre

4.1 Operating under the current “Red Traffic Light” settings has changed our work procedures and how customers are engaging with the Council. Customer Service Officers (CSO) answering phones are working from home or in office space not being used by other staff.

4.2 Call volumes have been slightly less, however, queries are covering a wide range of topics. We are receiving a lot of queries about altering dwellings, planning questions, and financial information regarding rates and/or payment options.

4.3 Customer Services staff are also receiving calls from members of the public wanting to find out how to join online Council and Committee meetings and online public consultation sessions, and how to make online submissions. The process of using a website or application for new processes requires patience to work through with our customers. Our team has been lifted by the positive feedback we have received.

4.4 Our current phone system has limitations in the way the Call Centre interacts with Microsoft ‘Teams’ telephone calling. Teams operates through staff computers and has replaced desk phones. Information Services staff have been actively working on a solution to this issue. We are introducing a new product called Tendfor to replace our current telephone software in the Call Centre. Staff training is commencing on Monday 28 March 2022. The flexibility and opportunities that this change makes across the team is exciting.

Counter – Face to Face meeting people

4.5 Less customers are coming into the offices for payments and information. The staff numbers at the front of house have been reduced to a minimum with resourcing put into the Call Centre and responding to online queries via the Council information inbox. The exception to the trend has been the AA Agency counters which have been very busy. Often AA customers have challenges that need patience. This feedback came in on Tuesday for one of our staff, Sandy:

Just had some lovely feedback that I have been asked to pass on from Dean. Sandy was wonderful, so patient and kind, and helped him immensely as his vision disabilities that makes things very challenging. He wanted to say how much he really appreciated her kindness and humor.

Customer Service Staff

4.6 Covid-19 and the Red Traffic Light system has been a challenge for the Customer Services Team. We have had a number of staff leave and have also had some sickness in the team. Other staff have been working hard to cover for up to six vacancies in Richmond, as well as reduced staff numbers in Motueka and Tākaka. I am consistently amazed by their performance and responsiveness to customer demands. I would like to thank the staff and acknowledge the success they have achieved.

4.7 This is the last report I will be providing to you, as I have made a lifestyle choice to retire. When Dennis Bush-King employed me as a Consents Officer, little thought was given to 30 plus years down the track when I would be retiring. Council has provided me with opportunities to learn and lead a great team of people. I have worked with some outstanding and talented individuals that I hope will remain friends during my retirement years. I acknowledge the role Councillors play in representing their communities and having to make at times very difficult decisions. I thank you for your support over the years and wish you well for the future.

5 Community Partnerships Update – Lani Evans

Golden Bay Museum Six Monthly Report

5.1 The Golden Bay Museum report for the six-monthly period July 2021 to December 2021 is attached (Attachment 1).

Grants and Funding

5.2 The Tasman Creative Communities scheme closed on 10 March 2022, and we received 22 applications. The Community Grants Subcommittee meet on 5 April 2022 to discuss these applications.

5.3 At the time of writing this report we have received four applications to the Covid-19 Grants scheme. We are however receiving several enquiries. Applications close on
1 May 2022. We are anticipating that a high number of applications will be submitted closer to the closing date.

5.4 Due to limited leadership opportunities available, we have not received any Youth Leadership Grant applications recently.

5.5 The Sport NZ Rural Travel Fund is now open, and we are seeking applications.

5.6 Two new waste minimisation grants are in development, one to support small-scale initiatives by schools, early childhood educators and community groups, and the other to support larger waste minimisation projects by local groups, individuals, or businesses. These grants will be funded by the waste levy and contribute towards the goal of our Joint Waste Management and Minimisation Plan to reduce waste to landfill by 10% per person by 2030.

5.7 The Nelson Tasman Funders Group (Tasman District Council, Nelson City Council, Department of Internal Affairs and Rata Foundation) ran their new Co-Lab forum where community organisations discuss funding options for their project with all funders, rather than approaching each funder individually. The Funders Group held its first forum on
3 March 2022 where two projects were presented by the community.

Environmental Education

5.8 Our new air quality education campaign “Air Aware” has gone live and will be promoted throughout March 2022. Over 60 responses to the Air Aware Quiz were received in the first week of the campaign. Competition packs are available to collect from the Council’s service centres and libraries throughout March 2022, with prizes available for participants to win each week. Information is available on our website at www.tasman.govt.nz/air-aware.

5.9 The Tasman Enviroschools team hosted a webinar on Waste for Teachers on
28 February 2022 featuring presentations by David Stephenson (Team Leader – Stormwater, Rivers and Waste) and Nathan Clarke (General Manager, Nelson Regional Sewerage Business Unit) on how recycling and landfill waste is managed in Nelson and Tasman. The webinar was well-attended, with positive feedback from teachers that their understanding of recycling and waste was improved by the webinar.

5.10 Six Tasman teachers recently attended a beach litter survey using the Litter Intelligence Framework developed by Sustainable Coastlines. We facilitated this session to show teachers how to gather data at a beach clean-up event, to help us understand the scale of our litter problem and get more students engaged in tackling litter. Follow-up training was delivered via Zoom on 15 March 2022.

5.11 Our “Batteries out of Bins” communications campaign is now live, with adverts in local papers and online through Stuff, along with articles in Newsline and social media promotion. This campaign aims to raise awareness of the fire risk caused when batteries are put in rubbish or recycling bins, and to encourage residents to take their used batteries to a free collection point, available at our Council service centres and resource recovery centres, along with Weka Peckers Recycling.

5.12 We are working alongside Nelson City Council with Eunomia to conduct a review of our e-waste subsidy, to determine if this is the most effective way to encourage residents to recycle their e-waste.

5.13 We are working alongside Nelson City Council with Kantar Public to conduct research on attitudes towards recycling in Nelson Tasman. We will be able to compare data gathered from previous years and use this to inform future recycling education/awareness programmes.

5.14 Tasman Bay Guardians are delivering their freshwater education programme; Whitebait Connections, to students at Motueka South School this term, and will deliver the same programme to two more Tasman schools in Term-2.

5.15 We are exploring the possibility of hosting a small-scale community event to celebrate World Fish Migration Day on 21 May 2022 as an opportunity to acknowledge the great work happening through the Freshwater Improvement Fund projects, particularly as fish passage is directly relevant to World Fish Migration Day. We’re in early planning stages and will need to keep an eye on Covid-19 developments over the next few weeks before finalising plans for this event.

5.16 The Ministry for the Environment has just released a significant consultation document relating to household kerbside collection (including food waste collection), separation of business food waste from general waste, and a container return scheme. We will work alongside our waste and policy teams to contribute to the Council’s response to this consultation, if it is determined that a submission would be appropriate.

5.17 Central Tākaka School is now active in the Paines Ford restoration project. The students are currently collecting Totara seeds to grow at school which will then be planted at Paines Ford. This is a collaborative project between us and the Department of Conservation.

5.18 Wetland restoration work continues on Reilly’s Farm. We are currently collecting felled trees from other farms to use as habitat areas in the wetland.

Community Programme

5.19 The first Positive Ageing Forum meeting was held on 21 February 2022 with presentations from Nelson City Council on their City for all Ages Strategy, and from the NMDHB who provided information to seniors about what to do if you get Covid-19.

5.20 The first Motueka Positive Ageing Forum was held on 15 March 2022, where there was a mixture of residents as well as organisations that provide services for seniors. The participants felt there was need for this forum to be formed as it would be beneficial to network and collaborate with each other. Another forum will take place in two months.

5.21 Investigation into providing more support for seniors to use digital devices is currently underway. It has become evident from the pandemic that seniors continue to have limited knowledge on how to use their digital devices to connect with friends and whanau.
A collaboration between Senior Net, Age Concern and the Richmond Library is currently taking place to see what support can be put in place.

5.22 Top of the South Neighbourhood Support, Volunteer Nelson and Community Patrols have recently received funding from Tasman District Council, Nelson City Council, and the Department of Internal Affairs to support communities in phase 2 and 3 of the Covid-19 response. This collaboration of services will help the people of Nelson Tasman to connect, coordinate, recover and rebuild from the disruptions associated with the latest phase of the pandemic. The programme is designed to offer services and support to members of the community who are not receiving NMDHB or MSD support, to assist them to gain access if they qualify, and to connect with alternative support if they do not. It is evident that neighbourliness and the promotion of social cohesion is needed for our communities to recover and rebuild from the Covid-19 pandemic.

5.23 Following the Newsline article calling for ‘Play Street expression of interest’, we’ve received three applications from the community to organise local street events. We will work with these community members to organise support for these events.

Events

5.24 In partnership with Tasman’s Great Taste Trail Trust, Richmond Library and Sport Tasman we organised the Family Bike Ride from Richmond to Moturoa/Rabbit Island, which 100 people attended (maximum participation based on Covid-19 restrictions). The event included cycle education, bike check-ups, the bingo game on the way to Moturoa/Rabbit Island, water gun games and a BBQ with games at the end of the 14 km bike ride. We had a diverse range of people participate, from kids to older adults, people of different ethnicity and even people who had never been to Moturoa/Rabbit Island before. The participants gave 4.6 out of 5 stars to this event. People reported they were most happy about spending time with other people, watching their kids playing together and participating in fun activities along the way. For the future people suggested having more interactive activities on the way and organising events along other less popular parts of Tasman’s Great Taste Trail.

5.25 We developed a Treasure of Kindness game in three Richmond parks (Bill Wilkes, Easby Park and Washbourn Gardens) to celebrate Aotearoa Parks Week. The aim of the game was to encourage families to explore local parks and share some kindness with each other. Kids had to solve clues that were posted on Facebook to figure out a code that opened a locked treasure box hidden in each of the three parks. Inside the box kids found art supplies to create a card with a kind message for the next person who opens the box. At the end of the week the boxes were full of cards and other nice gifts. This activity was well received by the community, and we are investigating ways to hand it over to the community to run on an ongoing basis.

5.26 Two more Lunchtime Concerts successfully went ahead at Sundial Square at the beginning of February. We had an amazing newly formed band ‘Broken Microphone’ and a folk band called Klezoum perform. The Sundial Square activation that took place over summer was very successful so we will look to run a similar series over winter.

5.27 Due to the Tasman Skatepark Tour 2022 being cancelled we organised skateboard coaching sessions for beginners instead. One session was in Hope and seven sessions at McGazzaland in Wakefield. The sessions were extremely popular and were attended by both girls and boys.

Art

5.28 We are supporting several artists from Motueka to enhance the alleyway between McCarthy Crescent and Wilkinson Street. This alleyway gets overgrown and repeatedly tagged making it unwelcoming and unpleasant to walk through. Lately, an assault happened in that area which worried the local community. By tidying this alleyway and brightening it up with art the artists aim to create a safer environment where people feel comfortable.

5.29 The Suter Art Gallery continues to work on the Art’s Trail in Richmond. The first two artworks will be installed on the Richmond Library in April.

Youth

5.30 The Tasman Youth Councils have started for the year with most Youth Councils having had their first meetings. After not having any members last year the Golden Bay Youth Council now has eight members and is becoming more popular among young people. The Golden Bay Workcentre Trust manage the Golden Bay Youth Council. Waimea and Motueka Youth Councils have recently had a change in Coordinator, but these Youth Councils are still managed by Sport Tasman. Murchison Youth Council, managed by the Murchison Recreation Centre, is continuing weekly meetings at lunchtime. Planning sessions for the year will be organised with each Youth Council individually and will happen in March/April.

5.31 It has been identified that once a young person turns 16 they are not the responsibility of a school or any other particular group, including Ministry for Social Development who deals with young people 18 and over. To cover this gap, together with Nelson City Council and the Ministry of Education, we are working on a three year pilot programme that will track students who dropped out or left school and to connect them with other services to ensure they have meaningful pathways to education, employment and training. This pilot programme is going to be initiated at Motueka High School, Nayland College and Marlborough Boys’ College.

6 Communications and Media Update – Chris Choat

Web update

6.1 In the last six weeks, the website has been visited by 42,328 users, 33,886 (68%) were new users. We received 17% more visitors to the site than during the same period in 2021. Webcams, river flow and rainfall reports pages remain the most frequently visited pages.

6.2 Two new trial webcams have been installed at Tākaka Hill and at Lake Rotoiti (as a replacement for the existing camera which is nearing the end of life). These are currently in testing mode with our contractor and if all goes well, these will be available to share publicly very soon.

Facebook

6.3 Last 28 days update:

· Followers increase: 209

· Followers total: 9348

· Posts have reached 85,526 users

Antenno

6.4 Over the last 28 days we had a net increase of 62 new users on the Antenno app. Seventy-five people downloaded the app while 13 uninstalled it.

6.5 Post statistics: 82 posts, 48% average impression rate (seen post in post list), 17% average view rate (viewed details of post), 0.9% average thank rate (post thanked).

6.6 Reports from the public: 60 reports over 42 days (1.4 reports per day).

Surveying our Communications Channels

6.7 The survey is still being assessed as the author and manager of the survey has been stricken with Covid-19 prior to the report’s finalisation.

6.8 While there is still a great depth of material to be analysed, the topline results show Newsline is still popular in its current format, and the fortnightly delivery is considered about right, especially for those in the elder demographic.

6.9 The topline results are by no means determinative as this stage as we look to find preferences and opportunities to improve our information sharing within the survey’s results.

Engagement

6.10 The engagement landscape has changed dramatically due to Covid-19 removing the ability to hold face-to-face meetings either through restrictions or reticence of communities to meet in public.

6.11 Of note, the Future Development Strategy, Wastewater Bylaw, Freshwater Fish Management and Motueka Catchment Management Plan consultation were all shifted to an online environment. The technical experience has been successful in proving to be relatively easy to produce. There is no doubt a wider audience is being attracted but this medium will be reviewed as to what else we may have to do as online engagement will almost certainly be with us to manage post Covid-19.

Media releases since last the Committee meeting

· Tasman considers Dam cost overrun funding options

· Battery fires causing disruption

· Water suppliers information webinar

· Future Development Strategy public consultation goes online

· Drone flights in Tākaka, Motueka and Brightwater

· Suppliers wanted for Jobs for Nature projects

· Sandeman Reserve barrier arms to be installed

· Waimea Community Dam cost increases

· Teams step up when weather threatens

· Our role in the Motueka fire

5 Attachments

1.⇩

Golden Bay Museum Six Monthly Report July-December 2021

148

Operations Committee - 31 March 2022

9.10 COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE GROUP ACTIVITY REPORT

Information Only - No Decision Required

Report To:	Operations Committee
Meeting Date:	31 March 2022
Report Author:	Richard Kirby, Group Manager - Community Infrastructure
Report Number:	ROC22-03-10

1 Summary

1.1 This report provides a summary of the Community Infrastructure Group’s activity since the last report to the Operations Committee on 17 February 2022.

2 Draft Resolution

That the Operations Committee receives the Community Infrastructure Group Activity Report, ROC22-03-10.

3 Purpose of the Report

3.1 This report provides a summary of the Community Infrastructure Group’s activity since the last report to the Operations Committee on 17 February 2022.

4 Management

4.1 There have been a few staff members affected by Covid-19. Some have had to self-isolate because of family or household infections and a few have had Covid-19 themselves. Many staff within the Community Infrastructure Group are taking advantage of working from home some of the days during the week. Currently, only around 30-50% of the community infrastructure staff are in the office at any one time.

4.2 We are also experiencing staffing shortages within our suppliers. Some of our infrastructure services have been compromised or down for short periods whilst our suppliers manage their resources. This report highlights some specific situations where this has occurred.

4.3 We have had some staff changes over the last six weeks. Firstly Jeremy Burton, Roading Engineer, has resigned and is taking up a full-time role with Downer. This is a good move for Jeremy personally, in his professional development, and the Council still has the advantage of his skills within the Transportation Alliance. Jeremy has been with the Council for nine years, starting off as a cadet. We wish Jeremy well.

We accepted Karin Hoffman’s resignation from the role of Project Delivery Officer, Karin has been with the Council for over five years.

4.4 We also welcome Lynda Jensen to the property team as a Property Officer. Lynda is a qualified legal executive who has a background in commercial and property law.

5 Three Waters Reform - Update

5.1 This is the subject of a separate report to this committee. Suffice to say that there have been developments on several workstreams within the three waters reform and the consequential demands are increasing. This is in addition to their normal business as usual activities. We are recording all staff time spent on the three waters reform and the transition demands so that we can request a refund from the Government under the ‘no worse off’ funding allocation.

6 Health and Safety Lead Indicators

(Audits/site observations) – 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022

Measure	Project Delivery	Property Services	Reserves and Facilities	Transportation	Waters and Wastes	Total
H&S Observations	24			15	18	57
H&S Briefings (also as part of regular meetings)	40	24	23	41	42	170
Number of H&S courses attended by staff	10	3	2	10	20	45

7 Property Services

7.1 The Property Services team currently has 250 open tasks which is an increase of seven compared to the last report. This will reflect new tasks added, less other tasks completed. Since the last report, one of the Property Services team transferred to another role within the Council, so the team’s capacity is temporarily reduced, and tasks are having to be prioritised. The new staff member started in mid-March and is doing well picking up the concepts of the work the property team undertakes.

7.2 The number of active agreements now stands at 266 leases/licences a decrease of five. Approximately three-quarters of those are current and working well but those which aren’t current have several complexities. Some negotiations have been going on for many months and in some rare cases more than 12 months. Others are held up pending policy development on the basis that termination of an occupation is likely to cause distress to the tenant, with a reasonable likelihood of challenge to the termination, and/or negative publicity.

7.3 The Property team intends to work with the Strategic Policy team on policies to allow a consistent approach with respect to community leases. The team has also provided input to the Transportation Unit about a policy to cover private occupation of road land. The policy development is likely to be quite complex, but a preliminary meeting has taken place between the two teams. It is hoped that drafting will commence after Easter 2022.

7.4 The strip of land proposed to be purchased from the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT) for the Lower Queen Street/Berryfield Drive road improvements is still progressing. The “final agreement” is still with NMIT. NMIT have since provided an updated market valuation, which was higher than the figure presented to them about 18 months ago. This will enable the contract to be updated, albeit some of the other compensation figures will need updating as well (landscaping, replacement car parks). This updated valuation is seen as positive progress, albeit legalisation is still some months away. It is positive that the new staff member at NMIT is engaging positively in the process.

7.5 The property team also manages 13 residential tenancies. These are properties held for infrastructure projects such as the Lower Queen Street upgrade and Borck Creek (Headingly Lane). Up to ten properties will need an upgrade to meet the new Government “healthy homes” requirements. Revenue from these properties is c$262,000 pa with management costs of $25,000 pa. We are pricing compliance costs for implementation over the next 12 months. A one-year contract will be developed with the Rent Shop to improve service and accountability. The Rent Shop currently manages 13 properties for the Property Team.

7.6 The property team are moving the property project database from a smartsheet system (like MS Excel) to MS Lists. MS Lists will provide improved reporting, real time dash boards and automated prompts.

7.7 A Lease and Contract Management System called ReLease will be rolled out over the next two months initially for the Enterprise Portfolio. This will improve contract management through better automation, management tools and communication. Costs for this will be recovered through management improvements.

8 Reserves and Facilities

Operations and Maintenance

8.1 The impact of the Covid-19 vaccine mandates and traffic light system, has seen a drop off in patronage and revenue across all recreation centres, as expected. Recreation centres have also been affected by many cancellations, mainly from commercial or corporate bookings.

8.2 The Motueka Recreation Centre and Richmond Aquatic Centre are operating as vaccination pass only venues, resulting in a drop off in unvaccinated visitors. Golden Bay, Murchison and Moutere Hills provide programmes and activities for vaccinated and unvaccinated, however they are impacted by the restricted numbers under the traffic light system, therefore operating at a lesser capacity.

8.3 Staff at the Motueka Recreation Centre have been touched by Omicron but have avoided any major disruptions, by rotating staff. Staff at the Richmond Aquatic Centre have been adversely affected by Omicron, with 30% absent at one time. This has resulted in the closure of pools (i.e. the wave pool) and the cancellation of fitness classes, due to lack of instructors. Staff are being rotated to minimise the impact so that service delivery can get back up and running. Staff at all other Recreation Centres are currently relatively free of Omicron.

8.4 Our reserves maintenance contractor, Nelmac has implemented mandatory vaccination which resulted in several staff on this contract leaving the organisation. They have covered these gaps with recruitment and casual staff, so maintenance work has not been impacted. Heavy rainfall in February along with hot temperatures has resulted in a flush of grass growth, the contractor has been working hard to keep up. Sports field renovations are underway and goal post inspection completed.

Capital Programme Update

8.5 The table in Attachment 1 provides an update on capital and other projects being undertaken during the 2021-2022 financial year for the period February–mid March 2022.

Richmond Aquatic Centre

8.6 The December 2021 and January 2022 Richmond Aquatic Centre monthly reports are included as Attachments 2 and 3 respectively.

9 Waters and Wastes

9.1 Utilities Trends

Water Supply

Activity Highlights

· A mains break in Wakefield caused a water supply outage for more than eight hours.

· Boil water notices were imposed on the Eighty-Eight Valley and Pōhara water supplies.

· Commissioning workshop held on 1 March for Parker Street Water Treatment Plant.

Compliance

9.2 The prolonged heavy rainfall event during the end of January and into February 2022, resulted in boil water notices being imposed on the Eighty-Eight Valley and Pōhara water supplies. A boil water reminder was also sent out to customers on the Dovedale water supply. These notices were due to prolonged elevated turbidity in the source water streams to a degree that meant that chlorine disinfection of pathogenic organisms was unlikely to be effective in the reticulation. None of these small schemes has effective filtration, which will be addressed by current and proposed upgrades. The boil water notices for the Eighty-Eight Valley and Pōhara schemes were removed when monitoring demonstrated a return to water of an acceptable quality and safety.

9.3 The Pōhara catchment was damaged by the storms resulting in source water turbidity remaining high for about a week longer than would normally be the case after rainfall. The landowner needed to repair tracks and restore watercourses and liaised with the Council to minimise the impact on the water supply. The recently increased storage capacity on the Pōhara scheme meant that very poor-quality water did not have to enter the reticulation. Membrane filtration is currently being installed at the Pōhara treatment plant which will mean that high turbidity source water can be treated to a safe and compliant standard in future.

9.4 The same heavy rain event had an impact on the Brightwater bore source water turbidity due to high flows in the Wairoa River. Turbidity in the bores, which are close to the Wairoa River, became elevated for a short time and relatively high turbidity treated water entered the Brightwater reticulation for a brief period. A boil water notice was not required.

9.5 Chlorine outages at the Dovedale treatment plant occurred in mid-February on several occasions, also mainly due to prolonged high turbidity source water causing intake and filter blockages. A routine monitoring sample taken on 15 February contained E.coli, which was not unexpected given the low chlorine levels in the reticulation. This E. coli detection is a non-compliance with the Drinking Water Standards.

9.6 A routine sample taken in late January from the Dovedale reticulation demonstrated that the chlorine disinfection by-products – Halo Acetic Acids - were at levels greater than the Maximum Acceptable Value in the Drinking Water Standards. This was expected and was in line with previous results. The filtration plant currently being installed is expected to significantly reduce turbidity and organic matter in the treated water which should result in much lower disinfection by-product formation.

9.7 A mains break in Wakefield caused a water supply outage for a significant portion of the Wakefield connections for a period of greater than eight hours. The Water Services Act requires the water supplier to make available an alternative supply and inform customers, in these circumstances. Council and Downer staff are working to formulate a process by which these requirements can be met in an efficient and pragmatic way.

9.8 Taumata Arowai, the drinking water regulator, was notified and kept updated during all these events.

9.9 Taumata Arowai has reviewed their staffing meaning that Tasman District will now be regulated by the Christchurch office, rather than the Wellington office. This is unlikely to cause any significant change to the Council’s relationship with the regulator but will require a period of familiarisation on the part of the Christchurch-based staff.

9.10 We are investigating a couple of possible illegal connections to the public water supply in subdivisions and if confirmed a prosecution case will follow. With several successful prosecutions and a lot of publicity it is disappointing that contractors are still tampering with the public water supply network. The penalties for offences under the Water Services Act relating to the supply of unsafe drinking water are severe and the contamination risk from the actions of these contractors needs to be taken seriously. The Council must be seen to be trying to protect the public water supply networks from the actions of contractors or the public.

Operations Update

9.11 Advertising for and recruitment of a Water Quality and Safety Specialist has been successful with the preferred candidate starting at the Council in late April.

9.12 Construction of the Pomona Road Reservoir is complete and has passed its hydrostatic testing. It was disinfected in mid-March, ready to be brought into operation.

9.13 The installation of the Parker Street water treatment plant is progressing well – this is a very positive step and will ensure safe water for those residents of Motueka that are connected to the Council’s water supply. The operations team attended a commissioning workshop on
1 March 2022. The latest programme and commissioning plan indicates completion of commissioning activities by the project contractor in late April 2022.

9.14 The Council’s water team are planning for the transition from the Recreation Centre bores source to the Parker Street water treatment plant. This is likely to involve additional activities carried out by the operations contractor such as flushing, additional zone sampling, management of network valves and pressure zones in addition to monitoring and operating the new treatment plant.

9.15 It also means that chlorine will be added to this supply for the first time, and this will probably cause some initial taste and odour issues as the chlorine reacts with biofilms that will be present within the reticulation. The introduction of chlorine will be done in such a way that these issues are minimised. It is proposed to communicate with residents prior to commissioning, about chlorine and the upgrades generally, so that they are fully informed and aware of the potential quality issues. However, it is expected that there will be an increase in customer complaints and enquiries over the next few months.

Wastewater

Activity Highlights

· Designs to remediate and extend the Takaka Rapid Infiltration Basins (RIBs) is well underway.

· Overflows from five pump stations in Takaka.

· Increase in issues with low pressure pump stations in Richmond West.

Compliance

9.16 Due to the failure of four of the eight Rapid Infiltration Basins (RIBs) at the Tākaka Wastewater Treatment Plant just prior to Christmas 2021, combined with the rain event over 03-05 February, a controlled discharge of partially treated wastewater was required. This was undertaken to prevent overtopping of the oxidation ponds. Approximately 13,000m³ was discharged over 52 hours to an ephemeral drain that discharges into the Tākaka River. Designs to remediate and extend the basins is well underway.

9.17 As part of the 03/05 February rainfall event, overflows occurred from five pump stations in the Tākaka network. Sources of inflow have subsequently been located and fixed in two of the pumpstation networks. Several other sources are being investigated in the Primary School and Rototai pump station catchments.

9.18 On 12 February 2022 approximately 5m³ of diluted wastewater overflow from the Sunview Heights pump station into the adjacent stormwater drain. Swimming pool overflow connections to the sewer are the likely source of the high flow.

9.19 There have been multiple odour complaints relating to the discharge into the RIBs at the Tākaka Wastewater Treatment Plant since Christmas 2021. Most odour is occurring in the evening. With the remediation of the basins, there is an opportunity to redesign the basin inlets to reduce the turbulence of the discharge and therefore the amount of odour generated. Pond 2, including under the floating wetland is also planned for desludging this financial year. Desludging under the wetland is expected to improve the oxygen content of the water and therefore reducing the risk of odour generation at the RIBs.

Operations Update

9.20 There have been several minor plant failures at four wastewater treatment plants in February, from pumps to valves and inlet screen parts. To date in March, all reactive works have been associated with the Motueka wastewater treatment plant.

9.21 Brightwater main pumpstation pump one has suffered from eight blockages since November 2021 due to a damaged impellor. The new impellor arrived in February but had been damaged in transit. The new impellor has now been fitted and there haven’t been any further blockages.

9.22 An historical ultra-fast broadband (UFB) strike has been repaired on Woodland Avenue in Motueka. A second repair to a lateral on Oxford Street has been made where both a UFB duct and a Council water pipe had damaged it.

9.23 There has been an increase in issues with low pressure pump stations in Richmond West. Apart from three faults that are suspected to have been caused by fat, there is no commonality between faults.

Stormwater

Activity Highlights

· Significant rainfall occurred in some locations during an extended period of rainfall over the district between 2 and 6 February 2022. Most of the property flooding occurred in Pōhara.

Compliance

9.24 There were no known compliance issues from the operation of the stormwater network.

Operations Update

9.25 Significant rainfall over a three-day period occurred in Pōhara from 2 February. Rainfall figures recorded at the Tākaka Aerodrome totalled 465mm for those three days. Fortunately, rainfall intensities were reasonably well spread over the three days and therefore extreme flooding effects were limited. However, in the lower part of the Ellis Creek and Bartlett Creek catchments, rainfall and tidal effects resulted in significant flooding to some properties.

9.26 Some properties adjacent to the beach along Selwyn Street also experienced flooding where the sheer volume of rain resulted in high ponding levels flooding the low areas of the properties.

9.27 The number of habitable floors flooded from the event was, provisionally two at this stage – both adjacent to the beach frontage along Selwyn Street although houses adjoining Bartlett Creek were very close to having the habitable floor flooded.

9.28 Overflows again occurred above Pōhutukawa Place in Pōhara but there were not significant debris and sediment washed down from the steep slopes of the catchment above as occurred in the December rainfall event.

9.29 Flows from a soakage drainage system from Kohikiko Place and Watino Place appeared to stagnate and cause odour issues. Investigations of the source of this are ongoing.

9.30 To prevent the possibility of stormwater discharges from the rural property flowing onto the urban properties across Kohikiko Place, the small 225mm diameter stormwater balance pipe has been blocked, in case this was the source of the contamination.

Figures 1 and 2: Flood flows from the steep catchment and the overflow diverting flows away from the tomo in Pōhutukawa Place, Pōhara.

Figures 3 and 4: Flood waters being pumped out of a property by the fire brigade onto Kohikiko Place with Bartlett Creek flooded in the background and flooding of Abel Tasman Drive near the intersection with Selwyn Street, Pōhara.

Figures 5 and 6: Flooding at the Bartlett Creek culvert under Abel Tasman Drive and downstream where it joins into Ellis Creek, Pōhara.

Figures 7 and 8: Flooding of the cycleway next to the golf course and Ellis Creek flooding over onto the private access road near Selwyn Street, Pōhara.

Figures 9 and 10: More flooding along the private access road alongside Ellis Creek near Selwyn Street, Pōhara.

9.31 Murchison property owners also reported flooding, but this appeared to be reasonably low key and the new Neds Creek stopbank appeared to have performed well again in reducing the overall effects of the flooding.

9.32 In Motueka we have identified blockage of a stormwater main near Goodman Drive. CCTV investigations identified the blockage - a steel bar was found inserted through the middle of a 375mm diameter concrete pipe near Goodman Drive. This has now been removed using cutting equipment from inside the pipe without the need for excavation. The steel bar was found located directly under a boundary fence between two properties.

Figure 12: Steel rod located with CCTV in Goodman Drive, Motueka.

9.33 Open drain maintenance of vegetation has continued, and strong growth is still occurring due to the regular rainfall over summer.

9.34 Pre-storm checks were instructed on 1 February 2022 prior to a long-lasting period of rainfall for most of the district, and then again on 8 February 2022. There are usually fewer pre-storm checks required over the summer months but there have been reasonably regular rainfall events this year.

9.35 The Motueka Wharf Road tidal control gate was closed against the high tides and forecast of rain between 2-4 February and then again from 4-6 February 2022. This sequence allowed one tidal cycle into the estuary during the extended rainfall event.

9.36 The Old Wharf Road tidal control gate in the Woodland Creek, Motueka was opened between 23 February and 14 March 2022. This was to provide an extended period of flushing through the creek. An assessment of bank erosion and other possible detrimental effects will help to inform decisions on whether tidal flushing can be done more regularly and under what conditions.

Waste Management and Minimisation

Activity Highlights

9.37 Contamination continues to drop in kerbside recycling collections, with kerbside audits showing good efforts by most residents

9.38 We are currently managing the effect of community outbreaks of Omicron, in one instance to date the materials recovery facility (MRF) in Richmond stopped accepting recycling for one day, due to staff shortages

9.39 In this reporting period there has been one small fire at Richmond Resource Recovery Centre in one of the compactor bins. There have been no reports of damage.

9.40 On 13 March 2022 the Ministry of the Environment opened consultation on a proposal to “transform recycling”. Staff will be reviewing the proposal and preparing a submission. Submissions close on 8 May 2022.

Compliance

9.41 Our contractor is continuing to work through a stockpile of car and truck tyres at the Richmond Resource Recovery Centre.

Operations Update

9.42 Kerbside recycling collections are continuing with good performance by our contractor. We are seeing good results from the use of in-vehicle video footage, which allows them to quicky resolve any collection issues and verify any customer complaints.

9.43 At the time of writing, there has been limited impact on services due to the Omicron outbreak. While several of our contractor’s staff in Resource Recovery Centres, kerbside collections and recycling processing have been infected or a household contact, our contractor has generally been able to backfill these roles. On one day in March the MRF stopped accepting recycling. This was due to staff shortages, and to allow remaining staff the opportunity to catch up with processing. Non-glass recycling on this day was sent to landfill.

9.44 New CCTV cameras have been installed at Collingwood and Murchison Resource Recovery Centres to increase our visibility over the sites, both while they are operating and afterhours.

9.45 Kerbside recycling audits are ongoing. We are seeing good results from these, with 93% of bins audited showing no contamination (pass), and 7% contaminated (fail). The main contamination issues are non-recyclable materials or unwashed recycling in a bin.

9.46 Contamination in kerbside recycling and at the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) has increased from 10% in December to 12% in January. This reducing contamination at the MRF indicates approximately 5% contamination at the kerbside in December and an average of 6.3% over the previous 12 months.

9.47 We believe that this ongoing reduction in contamination levels is largely due to ongoing audits of recycling bins, combined with ongoing publicity and engagement with the community. In March we are expecting to release more material on social media, including video footage showing the life of a plastic bottle in the recycling system. This material was produced jointly with Nelson City Council with support from our contractors and recyclers.

9.48 On Monday 7 March 2022 there was a fire at the Richmond Resources Recovery Centre.
A small fire in a refuse pod was identified, FENZ were notified, and the smouldering refuse from the bin was emptied into the pit. The likely source of ignition was a lithium battery found amongst ejected refuse. There is no damage to the pod however services were disrupted while FENZ made sure that the fire was completely extinguished.

Figures 13 and 14: Firefighters fighting a fire in the pit Richmond Resource Recovery Facility

9.49 On 13 March 2022 the Ministry of the Environment opened consultation on a proposal to “transform recycling”. The proposal includes several components: a container return scheme, a national kerbside recycling standard, a requirement for councils to provide urban collection of organic materials and a requirement for businesses to separate organic waste.

9.50 The proposal is published at https://environment.govt.nz/news/transforming-recycling/. Staff will be reviewing the proposal and preparing a submission. Submissions close on 8 May 2022.

Rivers and Coastal

Activity Highlights

9.51 Flood repairs continue in our maintained river networks but may be constrained by rock supply or weather conditions in the coming months.

9.52 Vegetation control and preparation for riparian planting has commenced.

9.53 Aerial surveying of river gravels has commenced, with results expected in April or May.

9.54 Further flooding in the Maruia River has resulted in more requests for assistance.

9.55 Staff are working with transportation staff to identify improvements to coastal protection in Ruby Bay.

Compliance

9.56 In February we commenced our spraying in public river corridors. In error we omitted to publicly notify this programme of work and suspended spraying when this was identified.

Operations Update

9.57 In January and February 2022, the focus of work in the maintained river network has been ongoing repairs from July and September 2021 flooding, vegetation control and preparation for native planning in the coming months.

9.58 At present the main area of focus for flood repairs has been bank protection in the Tadmor, Motupiko, Upper and Lower Motueka Rivers and gravel relocation in the Motupiko and Tadmor Rivers. Maintenance and preparation for riparian planting has been in the Sherry, Wai-iti and Lower Motueka.

9.59 While we expect that flood damage repairs will be completed in June 2022, rock supply and adverse weather conditions (leading to further damage and access issues) could hamper progress further.

9.60 Our LIDAR survey of the Upper and Lower Motueka, Waingaro, Takaka, Motupiko, and Waimea Rivers is now complete and photogrammetry surveys have commenced. This work will inform us of the movement and accumulation of gravels in these rivers and determine the sustainable extraction volumes for the next five years. We expect the bulk of the survey to be complete in March and the analysis to be completed from April to June 2022.

9.61 Over the past six months, the Council has approved substantial extraction of gravel from two beaches on the lower Waimea River. While we had expected to identify the next location for gravel extraction in the Waimea in February, this work has been delayed by other activities and we now expect to issue further licences by early April 2022.

9.62 We are also continuing to supervise subsidised River Z work throughout the region. Most of the damage resulting from the July-September 2021 flooding events has now been assessed, however, more issues continue to be raised by landowners and recent flooding in the Maruia River has resulted in further requests for assistance.

9.63 Staff met with landowners in the Maruia River catchment and are scoping potential River Z repair works. We have also agreed in principle with Waka Kotahi to allow, through our global consent river protection works in the Maruia River, to protect State Highway 65. These works would be fully funded by Waka Kotahi.

9.64 We expect that the majority of River Z works to be completed in this financial year, but some works will be restricted by our staff availability, contractor resources and weather and access to sites.

9.65 Over the past few weeks staff have been working with transportation staff to identify repairs required to coastal road protection in Stafford Drive, Ruby Bay and river protection work next to the Motueka Valley Highway, near Ngātimoti. Inspection of other coastal assets is scheduled for the coming months.

10 Transportation

Roading Activity Update

10.1 Business as usual roading activities have continued to be disrupted to varying degrees this reporting period, due initially to the heavy rainfall events in February and more recently because of staff having to isolate due to either catching or being a household contact of a person with Covid-19. Our key maintenance suppliers have plans to manage and recover from the disruption, to ensure the 2021/22 programme of planned works can be delivered.

Alliance Contract Area

Sealed network

10.2 Pre-reseal repairs have continued to be a focus this report period. Reseals continued through January and February 2022 as site availability and weather has allowed. The resealing programme, totalling just under 40km in length, is due to be completed by the end of March 2022.

10.3 We have several sub-contractors on the network assisting with asphalt pre-reseal repairs.

Motueka River West Bank Road stop bank reinstatement – 40 metres completed

Motueka River West Bank Road large storm repair patches being completed early March

10.4 There is still a backlog of pavement faults in need of repair, caused in part by budget constraints in the 2018-21 period. Faults are identified, recorded, monitored, and programmed for repair, with the intent of completing them in efficient programmes (i.e. going to an area or road and repairing most or all faults while there, rather than having crews move all over the network inefficiently with more time wasted in establishment and disestablishment). There is a severity rating system for each fault, as described in the figure below. The backlog has led to a very small number of repairs progressing from severity three or four, to severity five in a relatively short period of time and before repair crews have been able to attend. These are being attended to urgently.

Graphical user interface

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10.5 The graph below shows the current total area of pavement faults in terms of the severity. The estimated value of associated repairs is $1.1 million.

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10.6 Pavement repair budgets for 2021-24 have been increased compared with previous years, however the specific current backlog and severity of faults means we expect to overspend the sealed pavement repair budget this year. Not all these faults will be repaired this year, and the team are prioritising which repairs to complete based on anticipated likelihood of further deterioration and associated risks. This is standard practice in road maintenance where there are always constrained budgets.

10.7 Of course, new faults continue to develop as pavements age and wear under heavy vehicles, so the asset team are continuing to collect more and improved condition and pavement strength data to enable improved deterioration modelling and planning of future needs.

Unsealed network

10.8 Regular maintenance grading continues around the network, with drier weather more recently allowing good progress and resulting in fewer customer service requests. Several isolated dropouts remain on unsealed roads from the last heavy rainfall period but are programmed for repair next month.

10.9 The remetalling programme will recommence shortly.

Environment

10.10 Roadside berm mowing continues on a cyclic basis as grass growth is now strong with the warmer weather. Spraying of unsealed paths occurs on a twice-yearly basis. Completed to date are Stringer Road to Westdale Road, Seaton Valley Road and Wildman to Community Road.

10.11 Illegal dumping of rubbish, graffiti and sign damage continue to keep patrol officers busy.

Harkness-Petrie Carpark – illegal dumping of goods in early March

10.12 Complying with the National Policy Statement – Fresh Water and Tasman Resource Management Plan rules regarding fish passage has been a focus of the team over the last 18 months. Our culvert inspection process has been amended to include the required assessment of fish passage, to highlight locations for improvements and better inform future planning. Incorporating this aspect into our day-to-day operations efficiently is important as the Council manages in excess of 12,000 culverts District-wide.

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Snapshot of culvert inspection results regarding fish passage

Emergency Response

10.13 A significant part of the road maintenance task is responding to incidents of all types across the road network, at all hours of the day and night. A small snapshot of this month’s incidents shown below included a truck rollover on Church Valley Road, and a fallen tree on Herring Stream Road.

Truck roll over Church Valley Road

Large tree Herring Stream Road

Bridges

10.14 Repairs were completed to the guardrail on Mead Road Bridge.

Mead Road bridge posts, decks and railing repaired and installed

Footpaths

10.15 Concrete footpath repairs were completed in Richmond on St James Avenue, Washbourn Drive and Templemore Drive.

10.16 An opportunity has arisen in Wakefield for a new footpath section approximately 100m long to be constructed in conjunction with proposed utilities works to construct a new water tanker filling point on Whitby Road, as shown in the figure below. This can be completed within 2021/22 budgets and is expected to be complete by the end of June.

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Yellow line shows proposed new footpath

Sundial Square Seats and Bins

10.17 The seats, bins and drinking fountain were cleaned recently and treated to revive the tarnished surface.

Little Kaiteriteri – Stormwater Issue

10.18 The footpath has now been modified to allow pedestrians to use the path when the road is flooded. A solution to reduce the flooding has been developed and will be constructed as soon as consent and consultation with iwi is completed. The solution requires a sump constructed in the reserve and connected to the road sump with a swale formed to drain the water to the wetland near the back of the beach.

 Wallace Street, Motueka – Lighting Upgrade

10.19 A design has now been completed for upgrading the street lighting in Wallace Street. The work involves installing three new street light columns including replacing a short column on Wilkinson Street opposite Wallace Street for a taller one to improve the intersection lighting. The new lights and columns have been ordered and should be installed before the end of this financial year.     

New Bus Shelters

10.20 The bus shelter at Berryfield Drive near the new Gibbons development is now in place. The new shelter for Wensley Road is planned to be installed soon.

New Bus shelter outside the new Richmond Cinema

Maling Cottages Carpark Sealing

10.21 This carpark has recently been upgraded and sealed. Wheel stops are to be installed shortly. The old broken kerb was replaced with a timber edge that considerably reduced the upgrade cost.

Motueka Sump Renewals

10.22 This work is tasked under the Tasman Alliance to a local contractor. There are several sumps in Motueka that have been upgraded. The old sumps were very small and often did not have a silt trap to prevent gravel from washing down the pipe causing them to fill up reducing the flow capacity.

Sump lateral pipe in Whakarewa Street

Stock Road Pavement Renewal

10.23 The work is well underway with the water tables having been reformed, shoulders undercut, and subbase laid. The new basecourse surface is now being constructed. The length of the job is 1.2km.

Stock Road pavement renewal in progress

Golden Bay Area

10.24 February’s work programme had some major changes following the large rain event. Several roads were blocked due to flooding and slips. Tōtaranui Hill had multiple exceptionally large slips and wash outs which resulted in the road being closed trapping people at the Tōtaranui camping ground.

10.25 Contractors were able to assemble extra resources from local contractors (this included four excavators and 10 trucks) to assist with repairing enough of the road to allow vehicle to access within one day of the rain event.

10.26 McShane Road (Wainui) was blocked for three days due to the ford being heavily silted and a significant amount of material to be removed from the surrounding area. Approximately 3000 cubic metres of granite sand was stockpiled for shifting from here at a later date, with the support of an adjacent farmer who has generously allowed the temporary stockpiling on their land.

10.27 Other tasks achieved in the February programme:

· New culvert installs (12 metres of 375 mm diameter, and 24 metres of 450mm diameter).

· 23 tonne of rip rap rock on culverts inlets and outlets.

· 50 culverts cleaned.

· 1,480m3 of maintenance metaling.

· 60km of grading.

· 811m2 of pavement repairs.

· Removal of two large pine trees on Tōtaranui Road.

· General cyclic work included potholes and EMP’s on Abel Tasman Drive and Collingwood-Pūponga Road.

· Roadside mowing and spraying.

10.28 Further repairs are planned at some of the sites affected by the February rain event.

Tōtaranui Road – slip and fallen trees

Dry Road – Big Hill crack

Dry Road – Big Hill crack sealed

Murchison Area

10.29 During January, the focus was on repairs to the two fords, slip repairs and maintenance metaling on the Braeburn track.

10.30 Murchison received a significant amount of rain in 24 hours on 10 February 2022 which resulted in several road closures particularly in the Shenandoah and Mātakitaki areas. Since the event we have provided initial response to obtain access to all areas again along with initiating repair work on the worst affected roads. With support from key local subcontractors, our road maintenance contractor was able to start initial repair works within a shorter timeframe.

10.31 Contractors also completed:

· 88km of grading on the network

· 175m³ of maintenance metalling

· a full network weed spray

· culvert replacements on Mātakitaki Road,

· 1km of high shoulder removal and drainage channel maintenance.

10.32 Over the next month contractors will be focusing on completing repairs on flood damaged sections of the network which include several large dropouts/wash outs and a significant amount of maintenance metalling on the unsealed roads, as well as slip clearing.

Mātakitaki West Bank Road slip

Mātakitaki Road slip clean up

Braeburn Road slip

Tasman’s Great Taste Trail

Development

10.33 The Baton Suspension Bridge is complete allowing minor approach works to be completed before this section is officially opened to the public in April. Efforts are now being focused on the section between the Pokororo Swing Bridge and Peninsular Bridge as well as some sections on the Tapawera-Baton Road where we hope to achieve some off-road sections where the unsealed road is narrow and has blind corners. The photograph below shows the bridge during the final stages of construction.

Road Safety

10.34 The Crash Analysis System now records ten serious crashes on our local roads so far in this fiscal year. The latest serious injury crashes are:

· A motorcycle losing control on Riwaka Valley Road.

· A car losing control on Kōrere-Tophouse Road.

· A car losing control on a straight on Kerr Hill Road.

· A motorcycle on Collingwood-Bainham Road lost control when forced to take evasive action from a car on the wrong side of the road.

· A van turning right at the Arbor-Lea traffic signals on Salisbury Road failed to give way to a cyclist.

· A motorcycle (dirt bike) lost control on Polglase Street Richmond. Acceleration caused the front wheel of the bike to lift off the ground.

· A car failed to take a corner on Tadmor Valley Road when travelling at high speed.

10.35 Many other crashes, often speed related are being brought to our attention by our community, including this crash on Thorp Street, Motueka and on Gibbs Valley Road.

Martin Farm Road

10.36 Staff have met again with residents on Martin Farm Road regarding concerns about pedestrian safety. Low-cost improvements are proposed to increase the space available for pedestrians and provide some separation from traffic. This work is being priced to determine whether it will fit within available budgets.

Thorp Street

10.37 Residents of Thorp Street have raised concerns about driver behaviour and vehicle speeds. Staff have reviewed available data which shows generally good compliance with the existing 50km/h speed limit, although approximately 15% of vehicles are exceeding this. The street is a candidate for an electronic driver feedback sign, which will help remind those drivers creeping over the speed limit to slow down.

Traffic Counting

10.38 We undertake annual traffic counts on several key roads to monitor growth. Roads that were counted last month that are of particular interest include McShane Road (Richmond) and Hill Street. The McShane Road traffic count shows average daily traffic volumes have increased to just under 4,000 vehicles per day and with average vehicle speeds of 61km/h, and 2-3% of vehicles travelling over 80km/h (varies between each day surveyed).

10.39 On Hill Street traffic volumes have now increased to just over 6,000 vehicles per day with average speeds of 48km/h. On Hill Street 1-2% of vehicles are travelling over 60km/h and 30-42% are travelling over 50km/h.   

10.40 Salisbury Road traffic volumes at our permanent count location near Days Plumbing remain at around 11,000-12,000 vehicles per day. We know that Salisbury Road traffic volumes are higher near Templemore Drive with 17,383 average vehicles per day counted in 2019. We don’t undertake regular counts at this location. 

Parking Survey

10.41 Our annual parking survey to monitor town centre parking facilities has been completed utilising our student engineers. The Richmond survey was undertaken on Monday 29 November and Wednesday 1 December 2021. The target for these annual surveys is to survey the fourth busiest week of the year. 

The key targets are:

· That our time restricted car parks are less than 90% full ensuring that time-restricted parking meets the demand from shoppers and visitors to our town centres. At 90%, parking is effectively considered full as there will be so few spaces free that the driver may not come across an empty space.  

· That all day parking will be within 10-minutes walk to the town centre.

A summary of this year’s results follows:

Richmond

10.42 Overall time restricted occupancy peaks at 70%, which is less than previous years which have previously been approaching 90% occupancy. This year’s reduction in demand could reflect the effects from Covid-19. 

10.43 Unrestricted, or all-day parking in our central car park areas, hovers around 100%, while walking distance to all day parking is at approximately 4-minutes 20-seconds. 

10.44 Despite overall time restricted occupancy of around 70%, some locations are very full. Oxford Street, Wensley Road, Warring Carpark and the small Mall carpark are over 90% occupancy rate. 

Motueka

10.45 In Motueka overall time restricted occupancy peaks at 65% although some locations are very full at times particularly the Salvation Army car park and Decks Reserve in the mornings. The walking distance to all day parking is at 3-minutes 30-seconds with all day parking spaces in our car park areas reaching 90% full.

Mapua

10.46 In Mapua, overall time restricted occupancy peaks just below 80%, although some locations are very full particularly Aranui Road (Wharf end) and Iwa Street. There was no walking distance survey completed as Mapua is a small area and it takes less than 10 minutes to walk within the Mapua township. 

Tākaka

10.47 In Tākaka, overall time restricted occupancy peaks at 100% however there are unrestricted spaces available within short walking distances. The locations that are very full include Reilly Street, Junction Street, and the Tākaka Library carpark.

10.48 There was no walking distance survey completed as it takes less than 10 minutes to walk to Tākaka central shopping area from any of the surrounding carparks.

Community Road Safety Programme Update

Fatigue Stop

10.49 Due to the success of the Driver Reviver programme we held with AMI before Christmas, we are holding another event before Easter weekend on Wednesday 13 April 2022, from 12 .00pm–4.00pm. This will be again held at the Graham Stream rest area in the Whangamoas.

10.50 FENZ, Police, St John, Red Cross, Waka Kotahi and Top of the South councils will again be involved, and this time we will have ‘Baby on the Move’ there to check the fittings of child restraints and provide information on the safe installation of these restraints.

Older Drivers

10.51 We supported Age Concern to run Staying Safe and AA CarFit courses in Tākaka on 10 and 11 March 2022.

10.52 The ‘Staying Safe’ course help older drivers re-familiarise themselves with traffic rules and safe driving practices. It aims to also increase knowledge about other transport options and help them remain independent for longer. 

10.53 The ‘AA CarFit’ course shows drivers why the proper fit in your vehicle is essential for both safety and the safety of others on the road.

10.54 We also support Age Concern in running the ‘Life without a Car’ course which helps our older residents navigate what’s next when they are unable to drive. The Life Without a Car information session:

· highlights a range of possibilities to remain mobile

· offers alternative ways of getting about in the community

· suggests many options to keep involved and continue to enjoy activities

· gives valuable insights into adapting our lifestyle

· encourages living positively and staying connected

10.55 We are also in the process of planning some mobility scooter courses and finding a trainer for senior E-bike lessons in collaboration with Age Concern and Nelson City Council.

Motorcycle Safety

10.56 Our local riders continue to sign up for skills training, with more courses needing to be added each month to keep up with demand.

10.57 We have also started a ‘Loyalty Programme’, in which riders that complete all three ‘Ride Forever’ courses (Bronze, Silver and Gold) get a goodie bag sent out to them.

10.58 Due to the annual ‘Bikers Brunch’ being cancelled we are organising a series of evening sessions which will include training on setting up rider’s bikes correctly, information on the correct PPE for riding and motorcycle crash first aid. We plan to run these over the cooler months when training numbers often decrease.

Cycle Safety – Richmond to Rabbit Island Bike Ride

10.59 The Partnerships Team, with support from Tasman’s Great Taste Trail Trust, Richmond Library, and Sport Tasman, organised a 14-kilometre family bike ride out to Rabbit Island from the Aquatic Centre. The event also included cycle education, bike check-ups, bingo on the way to Rabbit Island, scary pirates with water guns and a BBQ with games at the end of the journey.

10.60 It was a beautiful day with an excellent turnout. We had a diverse community of older riders, families, children, and people from all backgrounds. The feedback was excellent with requests to run more events in future.

Road Opening Permit Management

Corridor Access Requests

10.61 The graph below shows the number of corridor access requests processed and approved by month showing the 2020/21 and current 2021/22 fiscal year.

11 Project Delivery

Project stage summary

Stage	Total
Design	21
Procurement	2
Construction	31
Grand Total	54

Risks

RAG	Total
	4
	14
	37

Operations Committee 31 March 2022

Issues

Project	Issue
1057 Pōhara Stormwater Improvements	Insufficient funding to complete all three parts of the contract
1208 - Berryfield/Lower Queen Intersection Upgrade	Lack of funding and delay in land purchase.
1198B - Upper Moutere Shared Path	Land purchase delay.
1253 - Richmond South - new pump stations and rising main	On hold. Design assumptions may change due to Future Development strategy review

Tenders awarded since last report

Nil

Construction contracts completed since last report

Project no.	Project name	Contractor	Construction Start Date	Actual Construction End Date	Planned construction days	Actual Construction Days	Total Budget	Total Cost (to date)
1102	Richmond Waverley Street New Water Main	Tasman Civil Limited	02/08/21	03/02/22	70	128	$765,000	$920,180
1239	Baton River Cycle Bridge	Edifice Construction	13/12/21	18/02/22	70	44	$400,000	$512,583

Project no.

Project name

Contractor

Construction Start Date

Actual Construction End Date

Planned construction days

Actual Construction Days

Total Budget

Total Cost
(to date)

1102

Richmond Waverley Street New Water Main

Tasman Civil Limited

02/08/21

03/02/22

128

$765,000

$920,180

1239

Baton River Cycle Bridge

Edifice Construction

13/12/21

18/02/22

$400,000

$512,583

Project portfolio

PROJECT ID.	PROJECT NAME	WORK DESCRIPTION	STATUS	STAGE	STAGE COMPLETION DATE	PROJECT BUDGET THIS YEAR	COMMENTS
Community Facilities
1241	Takaka Grandstand Refurbishment	Work includes refurbishing and strengthening the grandstand, removing the squash courts, the rear concrete lean-to and the rugby club room extension.	Cost	Delivery	19/08/22	$1,191,928	Construction work is progressing well. Higher costs than expected for some items - working with builder to confirm cost to complete.
Libraries
1165	Motueka Library Redevelopment	Construction of a new library building on Decks Reserve in Motueka.		Delivery	01/04/22	$2,362,819	Opened 19th March 2022.
Parks & Recreation Assets & Facilities
1307	Emergency Generator – Golden Bay Rec. Park Centre	Scope, procure and install an emergency generator for the Golden Bay Rec Park Centre to enable use of the facility as a CDEM emergency operations centre.		Preliminary Design	18/03/22	$71,610.00	Preparing for procurement via Request for Quote to selected supplier.
1291	Old Wharf Road Motueka Skate Park	Design and develop and upgrade to the skate park on Old Wharf Road.		Procurement	04/04/22	$250,000	No tenders were received for this contract. Additional funding is now being sought externally and the design is being re-scoped.
1281	Torrent Bay Toilets	Construct a replacement toilet block at Torrent Bay.		Delivery	12/11/21	$300,000	Contract now complete.
Property (non-Commercial)
Multiple	Port Tarakohe Projects (multiple)	Multiple projects to upgrade the Port facilities: Dredging, Timber wharf demolition, New wharf, Toilet block, Concrete spalling, Armour wall east wing, light tower including web cam.		Preliminary Design	TBA	$1,200,000	Design for this programme of work is underway. The concrete wharf repair contract is about to go to tender and planned for completion by early August. The design is underway for the new wharf, ablution block and breakwater extension.
1290	Takaka Aerodrome cross runway seal and extension	Seal existing runway – approximately 549m long; and extend runway by 192m.		Detailed Design	TBA	$255,000	Council have approved money for repair of damage to the seal caused by recent heavy rainfall. It was identified that the seal was also in need of reseal. Resealing and shoulder works will happen this financial year. The runway extension has been approved and will also be completed this financial year.
1219	Port Tarakohe - Timber Wharf Demolition	Remove Deck.		Delivery	04/05/22	$150,000	Work complete.
Rivers Management
1213	Motueka Stopbank Refurbishment	Undertake rebuilds at the top six highest risk sites and top-up other areas of the Motueka flood protection scheme stopbanks, where below current level of service, as identified in the Tonkin & Taylor June/July 2020 report.		Delivery	30/06/23	$4,631,000	This project is divided into 3 phases. - Phase 1: Consists of 3 sites. Complete. - Phase 2: Consists of 5 sites. A contract has been awarded and work is underway. - Phase 3: Scope still to be confirmed. Work will occur summer 2022/23. This project is majority funded by MBIE Covid Response Stimulus funding. Funding is spread over the 2021/22 and 2022/23 FYs.
1302	Riverbed Surveys 2022	Aerial mapping of active river channels and floodways across the district. The majority of funding for this project will come from gravel fees.		Delivery	31/05/22	$457,640	Orthophotos due shortly, channel survey has been delayed due to COVID but is due to start late March. Final fee proposal with E2 Environmental for reporting and surface to surface comparison accepted. Gravel return data mostly collated.
Roads, Walkways, Cycle ways
1208	Berryfield/Lower Queen Intersection Upgrade	Upgrade of Berryfield Drive/Lower Queen Street intersection.	Land	Detailed Design	05/07/23	$0	Tender documentation has been prepared, but the project is on hold due to a lack of funding and delay in land purchase from NMIT.
1198b	Upper Moutere Shared Path	Shared path between the Community Centre and the Village.	On-Hold	Delivery	30/06/22	$0	Project on hold due to land purchase delay.
1240	Motupipi Shared Path Cycle Bridge	Construct new shared path bridge over Motupipi river, beside existing road bridge	Cost	Delivery	29/07/22	$244,507	Design is underway, geotech was carried out late January. Construction is due to begin May/June 2022.
1247 (1198c)	Brooklyn Bridge & Footpath	Shared footpath and bridge from Old Mill Road down Motueka West Bank Road to Mickell Road.		Delivery	29/10/21	$148,675	Work complete.
Sewerage Treatment and Disposal Services
1182	New Rising Main - Motueka West to WWTP	Design, tendering and construction management of pump station and rising main from Motueka West Development Area to Motueka Bridge		Preliminary Design	09/02/22	$773,014	In preliminary design.
1253	Richmond South - new pump stations and rising main	Purchase a section of land (Approximately 700m2) adjacent to SH 6 to locate the pumping station and the future additional emergency storage. Install a pumping station with a wet well that will be able to cope with all future flows (say 3m dia) and the pumping system to cope with the gravity flows from DA 41-R and DA 42 -R.	On-Hold	Preliminary Design	18/05/22	$117,645	On hold pending outcome of Future Development Strategy Review, as this will determine configuration.
1255	Tarakohe pump station upgrade	Relocate (replace) and upgrade Tarakohe PS, including dosing, odour mitigation and rising main. Rising main will be continuous to Four Winds WWPS. Connect Pōhara Valley and Pōhara Camp PSs to new rising main.	Consents	Preliminary Design	08/06/22	$250,000	Preliminary design is now complete and a site has been agreed on for the pump station. Early contractor engagement with the preferred contractor is underway. A specialist rock saw will be required to cut through 1.5km of marble running between Port Tarakohe and Pohara. Currently pricing the contract up with the consultant and contractor.
1137	Richmond Headingly Lane wastewater pump station & rising main upgrade	Upgrade of Headingly Lane wastewater pump station and rising main to increase existing capacity of the sewer connection from Headingly Lane to the Beach Road NRSBU pump station.	Late	Delivery	29/04/22	$1,127,655	Construction has restarted.
1207	Tapawera Wastewater Reticulation Replacement	Replace approx. 220m above-ground asbestos cement wastewater reticulation with 150mm diameter uPVC pipework	Late	Delivery	14/03/22	$0	Construction has been delayed due to supply of materials. Now planned to begin February 2022.
Stormwater Collection and Disposal Services
1168	Stormwater Land Purchase Programme	Ongoing land purchase programme for Richmond Stormwater.		Preliminary Design	Not for construction	$4,152,449	Four property purchases in Richmond West are planned for the 2021/22 financial year. Final costs for one purchase that was programmed for 2020/21 has fallen into the current FY.
1249	Motueka West Discharge System	Construction of culverts to take stormwater from Motueka West development.		Preliminary Design	30/11/22	$102,300	Have agreement in principle with landowners for easements. Progressing the design and consenting.
1251	Borck Creek SH60 Bridge Capacity upgrade	Upgrade existing culvert to enable Borck Creek to be widened to cater for growth in Richmond South and reduce stormwater flooding.		Preliminary Design	13/04/22	$306,900	NZTA have approved concept in principle - concept report is being prepared for formal approval. Procurement process is underway with preparation of an Expression of Interest, which will be followed by RFT to selected suppliers.
1252	Borck Creek Widening - SH60 to Reed/Andrews	Upgrade design for Borck Creek widening. Design criteria to complement design already used for the downstream upgrade of Borck Creek. Other considerations such as pedestrian/cycleway routes and link with SH60 bridge design. Linked also to SH60 bridge upgrade project 66047	Land	Preliminary Design	27/07/22	$409,200	Land purchase discussions have commenced, early indication is that land acquisition will require significant time and resource to complete . Concept design is complete and preliminary design underway.
1057	Pōhara Stormwater Improvements	Upgrade infrastructure to mitigate flood impact.	Cost	Detailed Design	23/02/22	$268,437	This project will be split into 3 contracts. The retaining wall at Selwyn Street and the box culvert on Abel Tasman Drive will be completed this financial year. The bund is under negotiation with the land owner. Tenders are out for the retaining wall and the box culvert. There is insufficient funding to complete all 3 projects.
1192	Borck Creek Widening – Poutama to SH60	1. Increase the capacity of the Borck Creek Channel to be capable of containing a 1%AEP flow following completion of currently consented development. 2. Lower the Borck Creek low flow channel to final design level to allow adjacent piped stormwater systems to function as designed.		Delivery	28/01/22	$258,234	All bulk excavation has now been completed. Extra cost expected for dealing with Dynoseb contaminated material now stored at Eve's Valley Landfill. Environmental enhancements and planting of the low-flow channel are now complete.
1194	Poutama Stream Widening	The current Poutama Stream conveys water from a spring behind Jubilee Park to Borck Creek near McShane Road. The stream also provides stormwater and drainage to a small catchment of mixed horticultural/pastoral land. Rapid development in Richmond has driven the need for the stream to be widened to behead stormwater that could flood Queen Street, and to enable growth in Richmond West. This project is to coordinate the construction of the final channel profile and enhancements.		Delivery	31/07/24	$0	Excavation work to upgrade the channel is complete. Excavation of the Poutama Wetland is also complete and a maintenance programme is in place until 2024.
1244	Seaton Valley Stormwater Detention Dam Construction	Construct a stormwater bund.		Delivery	11/04/22	$47,479	Bund has now been completed, Grassing will occur on the week starting 14 March
1250	Richmond - Eastern Hills Drain Upgrade	Realign and widen the Eastern Hills Drain from the railway reserve to Borck Creek and upgrade remaining section of Borck Creek from SH60 to existing Eastern Hills drain (hydraulic section C).		Delivery	06/05/22	$1,687,950	Design is complete. A portion of the land purchase is complete. Construction split into two contracts to allow the area where land has been purchased to be constructed. this contract has been awarded to Taylors Contracting for completion by May 2022.
Waste Management and Minimisation
1259	Richmond RRC dry waste bunker	New bunker area to replace existing glass bunker at Richmond, to enable it to be used to divert building waste		Preliminary Design	15/06/22	$401,254	Procurement plan for Resource Recovery Centres have been signed off. Progressing design to apply for Building Consent and for concrete pad pricing. Deed of Grant close to being signed between Nelson City Council and Ministry for the Environment. Working on TDC/NCC funding agreement. Collecting information to draft Outline Plan.
1260	Mariri RRC weighbridge and roading	Move weighbridge and kiosk and amend road layout to improve safety, allow direct access to recycling area and reduce queueing for kiosk		Preliminary Design	31/08/22	$412,377	Procurement plan for Resource Recovery Centres signed off. Quote for kiosk is being reviewed. Civil works contractor still to be selected.
1309	Murchison RRC new Weighbridge	Provide and install a new 12m weighbridge above ground, including site preparation, approaches to the weighbridge, traffic lights, software and power.		Preliminary Design	06/04/22	$10,000	Preparing for procurement and finalising funding.
Water Supply Services
1144	Motueka Recreation Centre Water Facility upgrade	Site Upgrade is to supplement network - storage tanks and booster pump arrangement to be confirmed		Preliminary Design	06/04/22	$17,300	Modelling of the network with Motueka WTP connected to see what will be required at Rec centre.
1186	Motueka West Water Main Stage 1	Installation of watermain along Grey Street between Green Lane and Pah Street, connecting into existing main in Pah Street. Extension of the new main down Whakarewa Street, connecting into the existing main.		Preliminary Design	09/02/22	$974,947	In preliminary design
1248	Richmond Source - Relocation of Bores (Richmond West)	Relocation of bores for additional security and resilience. Construction of a new wellfield with 4 or 5 production bores and all associated work. A suitable area for the installation of bores has previously been designated at 54 McShane Road.	Land	Preliminary Design	06/02/30	$51,150	The asset team are currently evaluating this project to decide if land purchase will proceed.
1256	Eighty Eight Valley – Water Reticulation Upgrades	Upgrade reticulation within Wakefield and 88 Valley to allow the majority of the 88 Valley area to be supplied from the Wakefield network via a new line from Gossey Drive North to Totara View Reservoirs.		Preliminary Design	03/10/22	$255,750	Early planning stages. Progress may be delayed pending private development approval.
1258	Motueka - Everett Street Watermain Renewal	Installation of approx. 136m uPVC watermain to replace existing DN80 asbestos cement section along Everett St between Trewavas St and North St.	Cost	Preliminary Design	01/12/21	$204,600	Construction planned to start April 2022, carried over some funds from Thorpe st to increase the budget. Delayed due to resource consent.
1141	Richmond South Low Level Reservoir and Section H of pipeline	Construct new reservoir facility and pipeline (from Arizona subdivision to new reservoir) to extend water supply network in Richmond South		Detailed Design	03/03/27	$192,000	Construction for this project has been pushed out in the LTP to the 2028/29 FY. Design and consenting is continuing as the project may need to be brought forward if development occurs in Richmond South sooner than previously anticipated. Consultation is occurring with residents for consenting purposes.
1283	District-wide Residential Water Meter Renewals 2021-22	Residential water meter renewals	On-Hold	Procurement	04/04/22	$600,000	No tenders were received for the water meter renewal contract. Discussions are underway on the best course of action to complete the project.
1056	Pohara water treatment plant upgrade	Improve water quality and to comply with NZDWS.	Late	Delivery	01/07/22	$1,187,628	Construction delayed due to Covid lockdown. Completion planned for June/early July 2022.
1058	Motueka New water treatment plant	Design and construct a new water treatment plant at Parker Street site to become the future main point of supply and treatment	Late	Delivery	27/05/22	$3,548,223	Water Treatment equipment is installed
1102	Richmond Waverley Street New Water Main	New water main in Waverly Street to replace existing 1960’s AC main, which has failed several times.		Delivery	11/02/22	$690,636	Cut-overs have now been completed, final walk-through identified some minor reinstatement issues which will be rectified and reassessed
1120	Mapua Stafford Drive-Aranui Road water and wastewater upgrade	Construction of a new Stafford Drive wastewater pump station and new rising main to Mapua Wharf wastewater pump station. Upgrade of Ruby Bay wastewater pump station. Replace water pipes on Aranui Rd and Stafford Dr from Mapua Wharf to Pine Hill Rd.		Delivery	03/12/21	$57,105	The new water and wastewater infrastructure is now completed and live. Practical completion has been achieved.
1129	Richmond Salisbury Road watermain replacement	Upgrade existing 150mm pipeline to 200mm pipe		Delivery	30/06/22	$163,680	Physical Works on stage one (William Street to Waimea College Bus entrance) have started.
1147	Waimea Water Bores upgrade	Upgrade the raw water supply line from the 5 bores adjacent to the Waimea stop-bank to the Water Treatment Plant on Lower Queen Street. Upgrade the power and system control cabinets. All of this to improve the safety of supply to Richmond and Mapua/Ruby Bay.	Late	Delivery	18/02/22	$82,679	Construction of pipe line is complete. Weather is impacting on the close out and final re-instatement works. The new bore (no. 6), headworks and pump commissioned
1148	Waimea (Mapua/Ruby Bay) water treatment plant upgrade	Water treatment plant process Design and Build: Upgrade the existing building and balance tank to meet seismic requirements. Upgrade the treatment at the plant to meet NZ Drinking Water Standards. Probable upgrade will be cartridge filtration and UV. Chlorine disinfection will remain.	Late	Delivery	28/01/22	$1,228,490	Commissioning is complete. Work on the caustic treatment room has started
1170	Richmond West trunk watermain - Section B	New section of Richmond West water main - from Berryfield Dr towards SH16.		Delivery	17/12/21	$0	Contractor is completing defect remediation work.
1171	Richmond South trunk watermain C & D	New section of Richmond South water main from Richmond West to Bateup Road.		Delivery	25/02/22	$1,676,400	Work is complete and practical completion is being processed.
1180	Rabbit Island (Moturoa) reticulation - Trunk Main Renewal	Renewal and upsize of the 200mm PVC water main from Best Island across Rabbit Island to the side of the estuary opposite Mapua Wharf.		Delivery	27/05/22	$580,651	Main contract is complete - minor work to delineate service corridor from tree planting zones left to do.
1184	Brightwater Water Treatment Plant Upgrade	Temporary upgrade (5-10 year) of the WTP to meet drinking water Standards.		Delivery	15/04/22	$388,956	Filter and UV building are on site. Commissioning and cut-over into the existing pipes will start in early April.
1185	Motueka Reticulation - Thorp Street Water Main Renewal	Replacement of the 200mm main along Thorp Street between Old Wharf Road and Fearon Street (approx. 2.1km) with uPVC pipe. The new pipe will be installed parallel to the existing pipe.		Delivery	18/02/22	$1,743,334	Complete
1190	Mapua Reticulation - Pomona Road Reservoir Upgrade	Replace existing temporary wooden reservoir with a new 2500m3 concrete reservoir.		Delivery	25/03/22	$2,071,035	Work is complete and practical completion is being processed.
1197	Richmond WTP Utilities Storage Facility	Construct a new storage facility at the southern end of the Richmond Water Treatment Plant		Delivery	11/11/22	$562,911	Drainage work is complete. Work on the floor of the building has commenced, but a supply delay of fire-proof will cause delays. The estimated time of arrival to New Zealand is October 2022. The new finished completion date is estimated Middle November.
1215	Wakefield Water Treatment Plant Upgrade	Temporary upgrade (5-10 year) of the WTP to meet drinking water Standards		Delivery	15/04/22	$443,518	Civil works complete. Covid supply issues have pushed completion out to April 2022.
1221	Dovedale Source - New Motueka River Valley Water Source	Improve water quality and to comply with NZDWS.	Late	Delivery	13/05/22	$2,173,611	Delayed due to Covid lockdowns and title issues for newly acquired land. Now due for completion in May 2022.

C.1171 – Richmond South Trunk Main

The connection between the existing 375mm diameter trunk water main in Bateup Road and the existing 375mm trunk main in Richmond West, is now complete.

Richmond West/Bateup Road pipeline route.

Chairperson	Deputy Mayor S Bryant
Deputy Chairperson	Cr C Mackenzie
Members	Mayor T King	Cr D McNamara
	Cr C Butler	Cr D Ogilvie
	Cr M Greening	Cr T Tuffnell
	Cr C Hill	Cr A Turley
	Cr B Dowler	Cr T Walker
	Cr K Maling	Cr D Wensley

1.⇩	Reserves and Facilities Capex Report - March 2022	217
2.⇩	RIchmond Aquatic Centre Monthly Report - December 2021	227