Cr Bill Faulkner Faulkners Corner www.sunlive.co.nz

This week's contribution centres on the less than spectacular ‘blood on the carpet' sensationally exciting, headline-making council activities, we sometimes create.

Some might even consider it boring. We considered the less than exciting draft Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty district Local Alcohol Policy for your consultation last week; and this week we had the wastewater management review committee, made up of four Iwi representatives and four elected members. It won't be boring – but will be spectacular for our community if anything happens to stop the wastewater disposal process. It's an even bet that most people send their wastewater (sink, show, bath, toilet) down the gurgler without a thought.

Sludge ponds
This committee was set up as part of the 35-year resource consent issued by the regional council to discharge treated effluent into the ocean, about 750 metres offshore from the sludge ponds at the Mount, down by Te Maunga. It's a large pipe extending offshore. This special committee, required by the regional council who issued the consent, also administers a $250,000 'environmental mitigation and enhancement fund” as another part of the consent conditions. So, $130,000 was approved for Monaaki Te Awanui Charitable Trust and $26,710 to Nga Potiki a Tamaphore Trust for research designed to comply with environmental mitigation and enhancement – mainly directed at any effects the sludge ponds might be having on Rangataua Bay (the estuary of Welcome Bay). The terms have already been drafted by specialist consultants. This leaves about $90,000 for any actual work that may be needed. Staff told us: 'the work would include outlining cultural effects, giving council a greater understanding of what effects what we do have on Maori culture”.
Other information showed discharges of more than 9.5 million cubic metres of wastewater through the ocean outfall during 12 months, with a peak daily discharge of 43,000 cubic metres. Highlighted were the bad effects of storm water entering the wastewater system all over town, overloading pipes and the two treatment plants. If too much storm water enters the wastewater system it simply overflows. Chapel St overflows go straight into the harbour but at Te Maunga there can be up to 10 days' holding capacity in the ponds. It's another elephant in the room for ratepayers if or when we get torrential rain and the plants overflow. Solution is to stop the storm water entering the wastewater system.

Keep out
One method is to pressurise the wastewater pipes, just like the Southern Pipeline is pressurised. Only small pressure is required to keep storm water out. No-one is using reclaimed water anymore. Omanu Golf Course, the airport and Sulphur Point are reticulated but it's too hard and too expensive. For instance, you can only use reclaimed water (that's treated effluent water that otherwise would be discharged) when there's no-one around. Say between midnight and dawn. Many years ago all hell broke loose when a gypsy caravan fair got sprayed at Sulphur Point in the early hours. They were supposed to have vacated that day but had stayed on overnight. The Health Department has strict rules on reclaimed water use that may be too strict. The other issue is that prime water, direct from the processing plants, is cheaper – go figure.

Public ownership
That matter – the future of who will own and control New Zealand water systems – continues to bubble along (pun intended) just below the surface. Privatisation, corporatisation or some other form of 'isation” is very much on the investment; and government vultures list of undone rorts to perpetrate on the long-suffering public, in my opinion. Locally staff are considering amalgamation or shared water supply services – in the interests of sustainability and economy. Watch out for all the buzz phrases and weasel words that will clearly indicate big benefits to the end user. Just like promised electricity reforms, remember? Tax, profit, fees, monopoly supplier, draconian supply laws (sound familiar) will hardly rank a mention and then it's too late after the event. Our present pristine water costs under $2 for 1000 litres. Amatil sells the same amount of water in plastic bottles for about $4000, so you can see the huge potential for the investment hawks if they can wrest this monopoly on a basic life essential out of direct public ownership and control. It's almost a crusade for me to have the present public ownership arrangements preserved in stone.
As we went to press, council was considering allocation of event funding for 2013/14 for flagship events, and allocation of remaining funds to major and small events. Consideration is done in ‘public excluded' to preserve commercial privacy. Outcomes are made public and I'll let you know next week.
This year's applicants are the Jazz Festival, Port of Tauranga Half Iron Man, AIMS Games, Garden and Art Festival, and an Arts Festival. There is about $220,000 of your ratepayer money available here. A review of this 10-year-old-plus process is underway with a view to have something more relevant, with private sector funding input. What is flagship in 2013, how do you get on the list, what should be the purpose of ratepayer-funded support and many other vexed, contentious questions are in the mix.

Multiple pseudonyms
I received an email about something in this column where the writer said he disagreed with what was written. What I wrote was not necessarily my personal view but you should know what's really going on – and that's one reason I do this column. But at least the writer did sign his real name. Last week, Bob Jones did an article using anonymous writers and pseudonyms. He termed some of them as anonymous ranters. The reversion to anonymity to comment, attack and slag off is so prevalent on the internet, and is a retrograde step in society. If you've got an opinion that's worthwhile you denigrate your opinion by not signing your real name. Who knows how many pseudonyms one individual has? I am aware of one contributor to public political forums who has at least six pseudonyms, and often has conversations online between his various pseudonyms.

This week's mindbender from Beck's Guero album: 'Something always takes the place of missing pieces”.