Category: Hot Discussion

An issue causing hot discussion either here in the blog or in the wider community

Melbourne Chaos This Morning

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We are not the only ones suffering transit issues

 

I saw this Tweet from The Age this morning:

 

Seems we in Auckland are not the only one suffering road and transit chaos (on a regular basis) with for some unknown reason last night the CBD jammed up and both cars and buses unable to move very far very fast.

Melbourne this morning is gripped with a major accident on one of its Free-ways which has brought road traffic to a stand-still while their City Loop suffered a fault causing a meltdown on the heavy rail network.

 

There was a common theme though between Auckland and Melbourne as I looked through The Age – well three themes:

  1. Decades long infrastructure deficits and neglect that both Auckland and Melbourne are trying to catch up on
  2. Governments self congratulating themselves
  3. Governments heading rather fast towards ineptness with major transport upgrades required (our Government with the CRL start date at 2020 despite the Prime Minister’s conditions for the speed up now being met, and the Melbourne State Government for differing its mass transit investment programs for two more electoral cycles (while hell-bent on their East-West Link motorway)).

 

Meanwhile I notice the very conservative Utah is continuing to push through its mass transit investment which patronage levels doing very well indeed. For that matter I am noticing more Northern Hemisphere Conservative Governments pushing through large mass transit programs while the Southern Hemisphere Conservative Governments fall behind the 8-ball. Not amusing when you live in one of those Southern Hemisphere countries…

 

Patch Protecting or Genuine Concerns?

· 1 Comment ·

Watercare pulls storm water scheme

 

I noted this from the Herald this morning:

From the NZ Herald

Water option plugged

By Wayne Thompson 4:15 AM Thursday Apr 3, 2014

Stonefields was to be served by a third plumbing network.

New Zealand’s first environmentally sustainable public “third pipe” scheme, planned to serve thousands of homes with recycled storm water, has been plugged.

Rain falling on Stonefields – a redevelopment of a former East Auckland quarry – was to be fed to a storm water retention pond and treated to feed a plumbing network to toilets and garden taps.

However, despite the network being built at a cost of more than $7.5 million, municipal water supplier Watercare has rejected it on grounds of potential water quality and price issues.

Residents are disappointed..

“The chance of us all realising cost savings from using non-potable water supply and reducing our monthly water bills, including waste water charges, will be removed from us without consultation,” said the Stonefields Residents Association.

A Watercare spokesman said the decision was intended “to protect public health – treated storm water would not meet New Zealand’s drinking water standards and Watercare’s A Grade for water supply could be jeopardised by operation of the third pipe system.”

Watercare also said the cost of running the system would result in Stonefields residents paying five times more than the $1.34 per 1000 litres that Watercare would charge.

——ends——-

 

So Watercare are rejecting this “third-pipe” which is “treated” because of water-quality and price issues. Yet the water (which a savvy person could also connect a rain tank to as well) was to be used for toilets and garden taps rather than the taps we get our drinking water from. So you will have to forgive me Watercare but I never knew we needed A-grade water for the garden tap and toilet as I never knew I was going to be drinking out of them…

It’s not recycled black-water (water that has come from a sewerage plant) and the storm water is “treated” so what is the issue here?

 

The issue is most likely Watercare would be upset because they might get a drop in revenue especially around the 80% waste-water charge will honestly stinks. I know from the 100% fresh water I draw from the Watercare mains does not end back down the sewer pipes at the 80% level – especially in the Summer – yet I get hit for it.

 

I know here where I live in Papakura there is some storm-water ponds that also act as a “lake” for the local park that could be potentially used in a scheme that Stonefields would have got until now.

At the same time I thought Auckland was meant to be an Eco-City and recycling treated storm water for non drinking purposes would have been a good step in reaching those “eco” goals.

 

Roll eyes material this is – really.

 

Looking over storm water pond to North Western flank of the park. New Social Housing development to occur behind that flank
Looking over storm water pond to North Western flank of the park. New Social Housing development to occur behind that flank

 

 

Inorganics to be dumped

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Trash on the berm-side to be a thing of the past

 

One thing that use to irk me about the bi-annual inorganic collections: the area looking worse than a standard tip.

Well Auckland Council will be adopting what Waitakere City Council did pre-Super City in that inorganic’s on the berm-side will be dumped as of next year and replaced with a pay-and-pick-up scheme.

From the NZ Herald

Inorganic pick up scrapped

By Matthew Theunissen 4:15 AM Sunday Mar 30, 2014

Sorting through other people’s trash for possible treasures will soon be history. 

Inorganic collections – long adored by bargain hunters and despised by berm lovers – are being chucked out. The Auckland Council is introducing major changes, which include ending the roadside collections and setting up 30 community recycling hubs around the city.

From July 1 next year Aucklanders will call the council to arrange pick-ups from their yards.

The council’s solid waste manager, Ian Stupple, said a trial of the system in Howick and Pakuranga late last year found half the waste bound for landfill could be re-used or recycled.

“At the moment it’s a mess. The waste is scattered all over the berms and it’s potentially dangerous for the operators.

“This way it will be a lot safer and the material will be in a much better condition and easier to collect.”

The centres would be set over the next 20 years.

There may even be coffee shops at some of the centres.

“So it’s almost a community facility like a leisure centre or a library where people would hopefully be attracted to go to on a regular basis.”

The facilities, run by private operators or community groups, would create job and training opportunities, Stupple said.

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Switch saves expensive clean-ups

 

Western wards in Auckland ditched kerbside inorganic collections in 2009 and introduced $25 home pick-ups.

Speaking while doing collections in Te Atatu, contractor Lance Goodwin said both systems had benefits but collecting from within properties was better.

…

 

I gather there would be a token fee to drop your stuff off at the Community Recycling Hubs. That said providing the fee was not prohibitive I would be using the hubs in place of the bi-annual dump on the kerb while having a nosy around from those second-hand goods or picking up some compost (if green waste is processed and sold at the hub).

Would this new scheme cause a spike in illegal dumping? Possible so enforcement will need to be strengthened to deter this much as possible.