Masterton residents with wastewater and toilet paper flowing through their backyards are relieved a fix is in sight.
Wastewater has poured onto affected properties on Cockburn St and Colombo Rd, which have needed temporary portaloos when their own toilets become unusable. One resident said earlier this year she suspected faeces had found its way into her kitchen sink.
The flooding problem has existed for some time but appears to have worsened over the past two years.
Masterton District Council [MDC] staff have welcomed a decision by new chief executive Kym Fell to take independent engineering advice on the ongoing wastewater issues.
One of those affected is Faith Traill, a Masterton teacher aide who lives with her family, including four children, on Colombo Rd.
Traill was relieved to have recently received a visit from an MDC officer and said work to fix issues at her property is expected to start within in the next few days.
She said sewerage has been inundating her property in bad weather for years.
“When the floods come through and the sewer line is backed up, we just get crap pretty much all over our driveway. We have to walk through it to get to our house,” she said.
“Right outside our door is where it comes out, and then it floods all the way down to the street … there’s dirty toilet paper. We have to walk through it.”
Traill said her neighbours have had pumps installed, and now she is hopeful the issues will be solved, with work starting soon to install a valve. “It’s good they are doing something. We are happy about that.”
Traill thinks a conversation about rates relief would also be appropriate.
“It would be nice if we could get some kind of rebate. In the past two years our rates have gone up like everyone else’s, even though we have had to use a portaloo outside.
“We have had a portaloo four or five times during that period for three, four, or five days at a time. I have 11- and 17-year-old kids who have had to go to the toilet outside in the dark,” she said.
In addition to the expert advice, efforts to install fixes at individual properties, including Traill’s, have been ramped up.
“Our water team has come up with a workable solution to the issues properties are facing, and I am confident that the work undertaken so far will provide a suitable medium-term solution,” Fell said, adding that the independent advice is expected to confirm the current approach and check if more can be done to mitigate issues in the medium term while a long-term programme of wastewater renewals is underway.
Masterton councillors Tim Nelson and Stella Lennox have welcomed the decision to call in an expert and said remedies for those affected are a priority.
“He [Fell] seems to be someone who is taking positive steps,” said Nelson.
“This work can be done concurrently with residents getting a fix put in place for them. I would be incredibly disappointed if an independent investigation delayed families getting help.
“Hopefully the expert will recommend a long-term permanent solution to the stormwater and wastewater issues in Masterton, specifically for people who are facing issues similar to the people in Cockburn St.”
Lennox agreed and said a proper project plan is needed.
“Any project needs to have a clear process, with deadlines and performance indicators,” she said.
Phil Evans, the council’s acting assets and operations manager, said MDC is working on solutions on a case-by-case basis.
“These are the properties most severely impacted by heavy rainfall events. Some of the work has been completed, with most of the properties we are working with due to be completed by the end of November.”
Evans said the immediate response has focused on the worst impacted properties.
“We are engaging with all properties that have required portaloos in the past. Following the installation of the solutions for these properties, our water team will talk to neighbouring properties to find out what issues, if any, they have faced that we may not be aware of.”
All properties are being offered a non-return valve, with the worst also being offered tanks.
A non-return valve, also known as a check valve or retention valve, is designed to allow fluid to flow in one direction only, therefore preventing liquid from flowing back upstream of the valve.
Evans has confirmed 17 properties have had non-return valves installed, and seven tanks have been installed, with the installation of two more pending.
Discussions with three further properties are in train on a solution that will include a tank.
“We are also working on the long-term solution of a wastewater renewal programme that will see our wastewater pipe network re-lined or replaced,” Evans said, “stopping the infiltration of groundwater into the wastewater system during periods of heavy rain.” -NZLDR
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