Board’s Plans For Outer Sewers

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30143, 29 May 1963, Page 14

Board’s Plans For Outer Sewers

A plan for the sewering of outer areas of its district was approved by the Christchurch Drainage Board last evening. It adopted a list, of priorities for the third stage of its reticulation programme, and agreed that when the estimates had been completed it would ask the Local Authorities’ Loans Board to sanction a loan for the work. The board also agreed that from April 1, 1966, all sewer loan rates would be consolidated.

The decisions were made after the board had considered a report by Mr T. A. Tucker, the secretary, and Mr H F. Page, the chief engineer (operations), which reviewed the steps taken by the board to provide sewerage in the expanding metropolitan area. . Along with consideration of the third-stage reticulation programme, attention should be given to the board’s loan consolidation policy, the full implementation of which would have widespread effects on the incidence of rating in the next few years, the report said. In the immediate post-war years the board, in common with other local authorities, was faced with shortages and frustrations in attempting to catch up and keep pace with housing development, which was often in areas beyond the outskirts of built-up areas, the report said. With most of the develop*ment taking place in the northern and western areas of the city, only limited reticulation was possible until large-diameter trunk sewers could be installed to provide the capacity to take sewage from these far points to the point of disposal.

It had been necessary to concentrate all available resources on the planning and construction of trunk sewers, a new main pumping station, and a new treatment works before any extensive reticulation could be considered Such reticulation as was undertaken in the earlier 'post-war years was in areas nearer the farm and not dependent on new trunk sewers. Prominent among it was the largest reticulation project of the first stage— New Brighton. Capital costs were listed since 1948-49 (£8262) to last year (£542,224) and amounted to £5,296.168 Rate Increases

The raising of such large sums by loan had necessarily increased die board’s annual rate levy to the point where the special rates now formed 52 per cent, of the total levy, compared with 31 per cent. in. 1952-53. the report continued. The complete consolidation of loan rates over the whole sewered area was scheduled to follow the extinction of the bulk of the No 5 area's original loan debt in 1965, and it was already apparent that new reticulation loan indebtedness by that date would have reached such a total that even substantial relief would not prevent considerable impact bn the old sewerage area, with some relief to the No 5 rating area , The original No. 5 rating area had for many years, in addition to its own original loan debt, been bearing the

brunt of charges on loans of £2 5m for the first stage and second-stage reticulation programmes. The Sumner-Redcliffs area required special attention because of the fairly high priority of Clifton and Scarborough -in the programme, the report said While the economic factor was not considered in assessing priorities for the secondstage reticulation, this warranted close examination in the next stage

* Rating Areas “It is not generally realised how much the newlysewered areas lean on existing sewered areas in meeting the capital costs of reticulation. Most .of the areas covered by the stage II reticulation have been reasonably closely built-up, but their sewer rates would have been prohibitive if those areas bad been separate special rating areas paying for -their own reticulation.

“It would be a retrograde step to consider separate special areas in a fastgrowing urban community, but the economics of sewering fringe areas does require some consideration if ratepayeft of the existing sewered areas are to be protected. A balance has to be struck between capital costs of sewering fringe areas and the rating potential of those areas.

"With the introduction of some flexibility into stage 111 priorities, it should be possible to achieve such a balance without imposing too rnueh additional strain on ratepayers. Now that major works and treatment works Joan expenditure is tapering off. the increase in reticulation loan charges will to some extent be more directly offset by the increasing rating potential from .new areas." The order of priorities proposed was:—Avonhead. Burwood. Rockinghorse road. Clifton-Scarborough, Harewood, Wainoni (balance), Sockburn, Hornby, Islington. The board agreed to this, and that miscellaneous areas

isolated pockets not covered in previous or current planning schedules—should be dealt with as the demand arose.

The areas to be sewered under the third-stage programme would be brought into the No. 5 rating area in succession as had been done under the second stage. Subject to a contract being let in Clifton and/or Scarborough during the 1964-65 rating year, the whole of the Sumner-Clifton ■ Scarborough area, excluding the Redeliffs nan special area, would be brought into the No 5 rating area from the beginning of that year, the board agreed.

The Redcliffs loan special area would be brought in from April 1, 1965.