11/07/2014
Kapiti Water Supply: Getting It Right Phillip Stroud (Kapiti Coast District Council) Andrew Watson (CH2M Beca)
Kapiti Water Supply: Getting It Right
Introduction • Council has struggled over 20 years • Using a broad & holistic approach • Provides a prudent financial and resilience result • Now a 100 year plan
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Kapiti Water Supply: Getting It Right
Background • Need supply for Waikanae, Paraparaumu and Raumati • 2001 - Otaki River declined • 2004 - a disliked groundwater supply • Increasing growth pressures • Very high public interest • 2008 Council committed $23m to deliver a 50 year solution
Kapiti Water Supply: Getting It Right
Planning, Setting Up & Resourcing • Dedicated in-house Project Manager • Project Charter – senior management buy-in • Communication Plan • Robust technical services procurement - very useful test of consultants, used again for other high profile projects
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Kapiti Water Supply: Getting It Right
Community, Iwi & Stakeholder Technical Advisory Group • Well respected locals • Engineering, environmental, economic, legal, science • Provided comfort for Councillors Te Atiawa ki Whakarongotai Water Working Group •MoU • Cultural Impact Assessment • Favoured a dam Stakeholder groups • Fish & Game, Forest & Bird, DoC, GWRC, Friends of River
Kapiti Water Supply: Getting It Right
Forecast Demands • Growth forecasts to 2060 • Water Strategy – 490 L/p/d peak • was 590 L/p/d • 2010 Council – water meters to manage demand and understand losses • Headroom – covers uncertainty • 50 year – 32,300m3/day, 40% above existing consent
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Kapiti Water Supply: Getting It Right
Current Supply
Kapiti Water Supply: Getting It Right
River Recharge ~ How it Works
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Kapiti Water Supply: Getting It Right
River Recharge ~ How did we get there? • First stage – over 150 reports, long-list of 41 options, reduced to 32 • Second stage: • extensive consultation to establish values, criteria and weightings • MCA used to shortlist from 32 down to 8 (3 dams, two storage ponds, three groundwater • Third stage: • commenced in April 2010 • investigations, consultation, statutory planning, concept design and costing • September 2010 - Council selected River Recharge as preferred solution as it achieved the highest ranking
Kapiti Water Supply: Getting It Right
100-Year Solution • 2 million m3 dam on the Maungakotukutuku Stream was second-ranked • Culmination of extensive investigations of all possible dam sites • Council seized opportunity of future-proofing Kapiti water supply • Resolved to purchase land to secure the proposed site: • negotiating with 5 landowners • removal and biodiversity offsetting of a covenant on a part of the site • 3-way land management agreement • 100-year vision locked in
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Kapiti Water Supply: Getting It Right
Investigations • Further investigations to inform and support process • Demand modelling • Surface water modelling • Aquifer testing and groundwater modelling • Ecology (aquatic and wetland) • Cultural impact
Kapiti Water Supply: Getting It Right
Consenting • AEE lodged in November 2012 • Section 92 queries, responding to 23 submissions, briefs of evidence • Hearing before independent commissioners – started June 2013 • 35 year consent granted in September 2013 (78 pages of conditions) • Issues: • 50 year planning horizon vs. RMA 35 year limit • groundwater modelling • uncertainty – monitoring framework and adaptive management
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Kapiti Water Supply: Getting It Right
Lessons Learned • Project was well set-up and resourced – this was a good investment • Work in partnership with iwi and wider community: • engage early and be persistent • use local experts to harness community endorsement • Look for new ways to sweat existing assets • Seize opportunities to future-proof (over-deliver if you can) • Recognise 35-year limit under the RMA when assessing effects • National consistency in groundwater modelling and environmental monitoring • Uncertainty is inherent – adaptive management approach • 35-year consents are achievable for municipal water supply, and should be the norm.
Kapiti Water Supply: Getting It Right
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Kapiti Water Supply: Getting It Right
Conclusion • Council very proud of outcome achieved • River Recharge with Groundwater: • secures a reliable and sustainable water supply for the Kapiti Coast • provides additional resilience from having two sources • readily stage-able to match actual demand growth • Purchasing the dam site secures Kapiti’s water supply for the next 100 years • Project delivered a 100 year solution
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