Forbury residents are hailing it “the best Christmas present ever” as the regional council takes action against sewage overflows into their street.
The Dunedin City Council must stop discharge of wastewater in Surrey St and surrounds by June 2027 under an abatement notice issued by the Otago Regional Council in November.
Yesterday, Surrey Street Flood Action Group convener Lynne Newell said the notice marked a significant milestone for residents, who were “overjoyed” at the progress.
Sewage and occasionally toilet paper and sanitary products, spill into the street and surrounds when systems are overloaded during heavy rain.
Ms Newell has previously described the “psychological battle” residents faced in poor weather, dreading contaminated water running into the street.
The regional council launched a compliance investigation after receiving a formal complaint about the situation in May, concluding the discharge from the city council’s network breached the Resource Management Act.
Ms Newell said she read the email informing her of the notice several times before believing it was real.
“I thought, ‘my God, this is the best Christmas present ever’.”
It marked the most significant progress made on South Dunedin wastewater issues in decades, she said.
“[We] just used time and persistence.”
The 18-month period to June 2027 would allow for a “proper fix” of the wastewater system — “but the main thing is that if this happens again, they’ll be prosecuted”.
Regional council environmental delivery general manager Jo Gilroy said its position would be reviewed “when appropriate”.
“The abatement notice requires Dunedin City Council to take steps to cease the discharge of human sewage and wastewater into the Surrey Street area by June 30, 2027.”
The city council must provide quarterly updates on its progress, and the regional council could make compliance inspections.
City council Three Waters, property and urban development general manager David Ward said it would be “challenging” to deliver the required upgrades within 18 months.
“But we are working hard to progress this as quickly as possible, while also keeping the ORC informed of our progress.”
Work on short-term measures to address overflows had begun but the network would still reach capacity during the most significant rainfall, he said.
Only medium-term wastewater network improvements, budgeted for $60 million in the nine-year plan, would solve the issue.
“However, each option involves complicated technical, engineering and consenting processes, which takes time and requires significant expenditure — there are no quick and easy solutions to this network capacity issue.”
The city council would work with the regional council to deliver the required work, Mr Ward said.
“We also acknowledge and share the concerns of Surrey St residents, which is why we’re working hard to address the issue.
“It is a complex problem, but we are taking immediate steps to reduce the frequency and volume of wastewater overflows during heavy rainfall events in the short term.”