Mayor Main responds to wastewater questions

Published on 08 June 2016

8 June 2016

Wastewater treatment plant queries - A response from Mayor Annette Main

In recent days it has been clear to me that there is still some misunderstanding in the community around the failed wastewater plant and also the process to select a replacement plant that will meet the needs of our community.

The Chronicle editor suggested some information he would like to know. This information is already in the public arena but for clarity I am happy to again provide this.

Firstly he asked about the provision of evidence that the old plant worked when the aerators were functioning properly

There is evidence that the old plant did NOT work consistently as it should even when the aerators were functioning. The minutes of the Council meeting held on 17 January 2013 record that by 2011 the plant had still not performed as designed. The Council had not met the conditions of its resource consent for any year since the plant opened. The 2011/12 resource consent report had shown that the conditions were still not being met and that the gap was continuing to increase.

He asked is there evidence that the aerators failed and were not replaced.

I can advise that all aerators were replaced in 2009 when negotiations with the contractor resulted in replacement aerators being offered at no additional cost to the Council.

Thirdly he asked is there evidence that the aerators were not returned to the manufacturer, even though they were still under guarantee.

The subsequent failures of some aerators in 2011 were outside the guarantee period. The aerators were repaired at the Council’s cost.

His last query asked were councillors kept in the dark by staff for some years during which the plant was failing.

It’s clear that the councillors at the time were not made aware of concerns about the original design nor kept in the picture about everything that was happening at the plant. I absolutely agree that the reason this occurred needs explanation. That won’t be easy as those involved at the time are no longer involved. Although I note they are involved in disseminating incorrect information which adds to misunderstanding in our community.

However, I can say that council has been kept fully informed since the plant failed and as much information as possible has been in public.

A workshop is planned shortly to consider what answers an inquiry into the circumstances that led to the failure of the previous wastewater treatment plant could supply.

Denis McGowan in his letter to the Editor on 6 June asked a number of questions.

I have provided the answers to these.

Is the wastewater design complete and ready for consent application, or at a preliminary stage?
The detailed design for the wastewater treatment plant is currently being updated to incorporate the dryer facility as agreed by Council in March 2016.

Are the published costs based on a preliminary design or detailed drawings?
The published costs are based on detailed designs with allowances for the dryer facility and inflation. Total costs incorporating the dryer, inflation and any FOREX movements are expected to be available at the end of June.

Why does the Wastewater Advisory Group (WAG) prefer not to negotiate the monetary contributions of the “wet industries” until after the plant is built?
The Wastewater Advisory Group (WAG) role is to:

1. Agree principles for wastewater and trade waste rates

2. Use the principles to prioritise allowable cost modelling alternatives

3. Review the Trade Waste Bylaw

Final trade waste and pan tax rates will be set by Council when the new plant is operational in two years’ time when it sets all rates for the following year’s annual plan. However, discussion is still taking place with our existing industries about their financial contribution. These are not easy conversations, and I look forward to hearing their view on what they believe is fair payment for the contribution to the new plant.

If any one (or more) of the “wet industries” decides to deal with their own waste on site (to save a council charge), what design changes to the plant logically follow?
If any industry removes its solid waste from the wastewater stream then the operating costs of the plant, electricity, sludge handling and disposal will reduce and the plant has been designed with the flexibility to achieve these savings.

If all industries removed their total wastewater stream, solids and volume, then the total volume going into the plant would reduce by 20 percent. This is because industry contributes 80 percent of the load but only 20 percent of the volume. This volume reduction could slightly reduce the size of the plant and achieve approximately $5M in capital cost savings. However, I believe we would be unwise, given the need to work on increasing our economy and therefore jobs, not to include capacity for future industry use.

Is there already a “preferred tenderer” in discussions with council? If so why? When the design and documentation are finalised will there be a standard commercial tender and evaluation process?

During November 2013 Council, through TenderLink, called for Expressions of Interest (EOI) for the construction of the new wastewater treatment plant. TenderLink is one of the largest procurement companies in Australasia with more than 330,000 registered users. It is a central gateway for the advertisement and management of tenders, quotes and EOIs published by more than 500 of Australasia’s leading government, public and private sector procurers. Users can register to be notified of opportunities in relevant industry categories.

A total of 11 contracting companies submitted an EOI and they were evaluated and scored for their non-price attributes. The six highest scoring contractors were then invited to tender for the construction. From the six, the preferred tenderer was selected in June 2014, having followed a robust, commercial process.

Will the council reserve the right to reject any tender if the price is unacceptable?
The Council does have the right to accept or reject any price.

I hope this helps answer the questions posed, and am very happy to meet with anyone who needs further information.