A public meeting about Dannevirke water was sparked by anger after ratepayers asked the council why it was continuing to flog a “dead duck”.
The Laws Rd dam has been under investigation by Tararua District Council since June 2021 when the leak was discovered.
Temporary repairs have been carried out, but engineering consultants have told the council there is a risk to the dam’s design and it needs to be repaired sooner than originally planned.
At The Hub on Tuesday evening, council staff told a large and distraught crowd that renovations would take place this summer and the pool would have to be dumped.
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This means that the boil water notices and water restrictions, which have become common in the town, “may be”.
At the end of the presentation the floor was opened for a question and answer session, which showed that the residents were not happy with the “slow” progress.
Dannevirke Ratepayers Association secretary Hamish MacIntyre said members were fed up with the council’s spending spree and had nothing to show for it.
He was given a microphone to “ask a question”, but it was taken away when he tried to force the staff to look at other options.
“That [dam] the wall is broken… let’s not fix it.
“It’s a dead duck.”
He said tank farms should be looked after, but the council’s infrastructure manager Chris Chapman said they were “extremely expensive”.
“We’ve seen it…we need more space.”
MacIntyre said this was not true and asked why their “research” was different.
An exchange between the two took place before MacIntyre left the meeting.
“You are idiots. “I’m done with it,” he said.
It has been given
Bay Dynamics and Tararua District Council staff operate a submersible to check for leaks at Dannevirke dam (file photo).
Chris Southgate said “the tank issue was very important” and the cost of the site would be lower than the council’s cost.
He said the dam belt is at the end of its life and the cover also needs to be replaced.
“I don’t think it’s possible.”
Dannevirke Community Board member Terry Hines asked what the cost of the repairs was and what the guarantees were that the dam would not need to be repaired.
The project’s chief executive Roger Earp said there have been a number of companies working on the project, but “there have been no cost details”.
Dot Watson said the agency was taking away the public’s imagination.
The microphone was taken, and he was heard saying: “Look, you’re not listening.”
It has been given
A photo of the Dannevirke water outlet taken under the supervision of an underwater drone. (file image)
He then asked where iwi was, mayor Tracey Collis replied: “At the table”.
Earp said two iwi from the area were invited to the meeting but “both of them didn’t show up”.
Then he corrected this saying that one iwi was not finished.
During the recent maintenance of the two dams, residents near the Makirikiri River were warned of the possibility of evacuating if the dam wall failed and the police were nearby, he said.
The first leak found was 500mm below the base and the size of a mobile phone, while the second was about 800mm below and the size of a thumbnail.
These had formed in “depressions” or chasms and the pool was losing water at about 25L per second.
This was reduced to 5L per second, but some pressure was found.
The report from Tonkin and Taylor found no damage to the east wall and although Earp said he was “greatly encouraged” by this, the condition of the liner was worse than expected.
Dewi Knappstein, a civil engineer, said that the best solution was to remove the existing pond, which had been excavated in the natural environment.
“The dam is a part that was built” and small particles of clay washed into the rocks, which were directly connected to the cable.
“This leads to more and more frustration.”
No geotextile was installed before the earthquake in 2013, and he said “the entire subsoil network” needs to be repaired.
New regulations will come into effect in 2024, so additional work on the east coast was necessary, he said.
The council is also looking for a second source of water that manages the water supply system from the Tamaki River, and has reached out to the Alliance and other water catchers along the same route.
Earp said there will be regular monitoring of the dam with an underwater camera expected next week.
Staff hope to decide on their proposal at a full council meeting in July.
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