Whakatane District Council is asking for feedback on its draft assessment of water and sanitary services.

The report discusses issues related to water, wastewater and stormwater in both reticulated service areas and non-reticulated service areas.

Flooding is a problem in Matata when heavy rain hits the Eastern Bay of Plenty.

Utilities manager Santha Agas says there are still a few issues with their water systems, including water quality and distribution issues in some rural areas, such as Ruatoki and Rangitaiki Plains, and salt water intrusion into the Whakatane treatment plant due to a combination of high tides and long dry summer periods.

'We have received funding approval from the Government to assist with projects to improve water supply in Ruatoki and Matata.

'A new bore will be developed at Paul Road to address some of the water quality issues and pressure problems in the Plains.

'At present we are investigating the feasibility of locating a ground water source closer to Whakatane to use in emergency situations as a supplementary source.”

Santha says small townships such as Te Teko and Matata were a good case for seeking funding support for implementation of a reticulated wastewater scheme, which would be unaffordable without Government subsidies.

The Government recently approved $6.7 million to fund a new wastewater scheme in Matata, which has had problems since the 2005 floods.

The report also looks at some areas where there are risks due to a reliance on tank or spring water and septic tank systems.

These non-reticulated systems could potentially pose health risks from surface water contamination or unclean water supplies in the case of drinking water.

'It would be unaffordable to reticulate many of our rural water supplies as homes are located far apart from each other.”

New capital works have been programmed and will be implemented soon to upgrade the Edgecumbe wastewater system to address the overflow issues during high rainfall events.

Santha says there are issues relating to flooding in Whakatane, Ohope and Edgecumbe and in a few other areas during heavy rainfall events.

'At present the council is implementing a flood mitigation project in Edgecumbe and new works will be included in the Long Term Plan to address some of these issues in Whakatane and Ohope.

'The council is also in the process of preparing a catchment management plan for Whakatane and Ohope urban areas which will be used to obtain comprehensive stormwater discharge consent from the regional council for these areas.”

Submissions are due by 5pm on Monday, November 14.